Resonating Through Time
by Grace Musica
Summary: Torchwood/Who crossover, spoilers for both series. A little bit of Janto fluff that grew into the fic that won't stop.
1. Salt and Pepper

Chapter One: Salt and Pepper  
lj community dwtwprompts prompt: Spiritual  
Date Written: 4/18/08  
Characters/Pairings: Rose, Team, Jack/Ianto  
Spoilers: Doctor Who 01, Torchwood season 1 & 2  
Warnings: None.  
Author's Notes: Okay, I'll say it here, straight off. This story DOES have smut in it -- which will be cut out to keep it within FF.N's guidelines. The uncut version can be found on AFF.N or on my LJ.

* * *

It had been a long day. A long two days. Hell, a long week. While it wasn't unheard of to pull a 48 hour shift (aliens were particular keen on 'two days until Earth's destruction' bits, it was rather melodramatic), they were fairly rare and always left the team wiped. Coffee and adrenaline could only take a person so far before they crashed.

Ianto came around, passing out the last round of coffee before shipping everyone home. Jack had insisted that they all get some caffeine in their systems before driving home, because no one had wanted to call a cab.

Even Jack had looked exhausted as he made the announcement, slowly and stiffly moving into his office and leaving the others in the autopsy bay.

Gwen felt as filthy as everyone else looked: when they weren't spelunking in the Cardiff sewers, they were often climbing onto the city rooftops, which smelled infinitely better but were about as filthy. Toshiko was sporting what was going to be a fabulous bruise tomorrow on her cheek as she sat on the cold metal table, her slim fingers cupping the warm mug in hands. Owen was standing next to her, distractedly groping at his coffee while he made sure a bruise was as bad as she'd gotten.

Ianto gave Gwen a tired smile as he handed her mug over, looking so unlike himself that if she didn't know for sure, she'd have thought he was a doppleganger. His hair was in complete disarray, his suit traded in for the spare jeans and tee he kept in the Hub (36 hours in normal clothing and counting, he'd had to lose the suit when an insulted alien decided to spray acid at his back), and dark circles under his eyes, matching the set the others owned.

If Gwen had bumped into him on the street, she wouldn't have recognized him at all.

She took the mug and nodded her thanks, her eyes still on Owen and Tosh. A glint caught her eye, however, and she tore her gaze away to look at Ianto's neck. There was a delicate gold chain looped around Ianto's neck, the clasp and a few inches uncovered by the scoop neck of the shirt. There was something hanging on it, from the way hung into the front of his shirt.

"What's this then?" she asked, reaching over to touch his necklace. Ianto flinched a little in reaction, but otherwise didn't move as Gwen pulled the chain out properly. "Didn't take you as a man who wears jewelry, Ianto."

"Oi! What does that mean?" Owen asked, turning to look over at the other two.

Gwen made a face in response, running her thumb over the thin, flat pendant. There were odd markings on it, inlaid in a sort of shimmering stone.

"It's beautiful," Tosh said, smiling, then wincing as it pulled at her bruise. She slid off the table to get a better look at it. "It looks alien in origin." She looked up at him, clearly worried. "Where did you get it?"

"Bet lover boy gave it to him," Owen replied, starting to straighten up.

Ianto blushed a little and pulled it from the girls' views, tucking it back into his shirt.

Toshiko let out a sharp noise, covering her mouth and looking up at him, eyes glittering in laughter and happiness for Ianto. "Well, if he gave it to you, I won't worry."

"Oh, you're kidding me!" Owen teased him. "The tea boy's got himself a trinket from Jack. How sickening."

Ianto rolled his eyes at Owen, gathering his tray. "If you're all quite done--"

Gwen cocked her head to the side. "It's a delicate chain, Ianto, you shouldn't wear it at work. Not with the job we have!"

Ianto just gave her a smile. "The metal it's made of is stronger than it looks." He took the tray. "I'll get some coffee for everyone in a take-out cup, so you don't fall asleep behind the wheel," he called out, climbing the short flight of stairs out of the autopsy bay.

Toshiko let out a little giggle when Ianto was out of earshot. "What's gotten into you, Tosh?" Owen asked. "Sure you didn't bump your head a bit harder when you were pushed into that wall?"

"I know what those symbols are," she replied, turning for her coffee. "It's used like the way talismans were used, back years and years ago, for protection."

"Never pegged Harkness to be superstitious," Owen muttered.

"I think it's sweet!"

"Yeah, well, there you are."

Toshiko smacked his shoulder, making Owen laugh.

"Here's your coffee," Ianto called out, stopping at the railing. He frowned. "Where's Gwen? Her coffee'll get cold"

* * *

Jack didn't even look up from his paperwork when Gwen entered his office. She leaned against his desk, neither saying anything for a few minutes until Jack put his signature on the bottom of the page and put it into his makeshift 'outgoing' pile. "Can I help you?" he asked, moving on to another form.

"No, I just..." She smiled, shrugging a little. "...was wondering about Ianto's necklace."

Jack gave a little grin, his pen pausing just a moment before scratching away again. "What about it?"

"It's alien. I thought we weren't supposed to take anything alien out of the Hub."

"It's safe."

"How do you know?"

"Because I bought it." He set his pen aside, sitting up straight. "I bought it a long, long time ago." Gwen had that little head cock, and Jack knew she wouldn't leave him be until she had a satisfactory answer. "When I was traveling." Rose had teased him mercilessly about it, for days and days and idays/i afterwards, even before the Doctor had told her what they were. The fact that Jack had passed the merchant's stand four times before approaching it had tickled her endlessly; Jack Harkness was never shy.

"And you gave it to Ianto."

Jack blinked at her. "I didn't realize I had to ask your permission, Mom."

"I just--" She shook her head before putting on a smile. "I thought you liked me."

"I do."

"But you didn't give me something like that, to protect me. Oh, I know it's just in your head, but--"

"Gwen," Jack said, cutting off her babbling. "It... wouldn't work for you."

"What does that mean?"

"It means just that. Go home, you haven't seen your husband in days."

"But--"

"Gwen, just drop it, okay?"

"But Jack, what about me? And Owen and Tosh, don't we deserve to be safe too?"

"You do, but--"

"No buts, Jack, it's not fair to m--to us!"

He'd had enough of her pushing, and he was tired (physically and emotionally) enough to lash out. "It won't work because of the way they're made." He unbuttoned the top button, pulling out the mate to Ianto's. "These are called Vidara necklaces, they're made by the people who live on, well, Vidara. Vidarans are amazing psychic, they make the Oracle at Delphi look like teenage girls with a Ouija board. They make these necklaces specifically for one person and one person only, in a matching pair -- for the person who finds them and the person they'll give it to, someone they share a bond with like no one else."

"So why Ianto?"

"Because I knew, the moment I saw him, that he'd end up with it."

"How?"

"I just--just knew. I can't explain it, it's a bit complicated."

"Try Jack. Why didn't you give it to me?"

* * *

_'This one is yours, child,' the elderly merchant said, reaching up to clasp the chain around his neck. Jack winked at her before turning to give the other chain to Rose. 'Oh no, no, that one is not for her.'_

_'But I like this one, it's pretty,' Rose replied, touching the disk with her fingers._

_'I know, and you may choose any other necklace. Except this one.'_

_The woman took the chain, her gray-tinted gnarled fingers deftly undoing the clasp and looping it around Jack's neck. The two metal disks clanked against one another. She took the two and twisted them together so they formed one piece. Jack looked down in confusion; he hadn't even realized they could fit together._

_Rose clapped her hands in excitement, looking for something else she liked. The merchant touched the joined necklaces with one long finger and smiled serenely.  
_

* * *

"It's for my soulmate, Gwen. It only belongs to Ianto."


	2. That's The Thing About Gloves, Sir

Chapter Two: That's The Thing About Gloves, Sir  
lj community dwtwprompts prompt: Destiny  
Date Written: 4/21/08  
Rating: PG-13/T just to be safe  
Word Count: 2,046  
Characters/Pairings: Gwen, Jack/Ianto  
Spoilers: Doctor Who 01, Torchwood season 1 & 2  
Warnings: Nekkid boystuffs. Not sex naked, but still naked.

* * *

Gwen stared at Jack in absolute shock for a full fifteen seconds before smacking her hands on the desk. "Oh, come off it!"

Jack blinked at her. "What?"

"Oh, that was a good one! _He's my soul mate._ You were completely serious, too! Oh, you should be in films, honestly."

Jack leaned back in his chair, still holding the Vidara necklace. "I am serious, Gwen. D'you think I'd make something like this up?"

"Okay then, how do they work?" the Welsh woman asked, crossing her arms. Her entire body oozed disbelief.

"It's... a bit hard to explain."

* * *

_"__A pair of Vidara necklaces!" the Doctor crowed. "No wonder he couldn't pass them up! That old bat could have charged a million credit or whatever she was taking for them, and he'd have put the money down for them!"_

_"Vidara necklaces?" Rose cocked her head to the side, looking at Jack._

_The former Time Agent shrugged. "Never heard of them."_

_"Oh, you're gonna love this." The Doctor grinned and clapped his hands, rubbing them together. "I sure do!"_

* * *

"There's this thing, okay, it's called the Time Vortex. It's what the Rift keys into, that's why things get snatched from different places and times and end up here." He paused for a moment, thinking. The Doctor aways was better at explain this timey-wimey stuff, even better than the Academy had. "The Time Vortex contains everything that ever is, ever was, and ever will be.

"Certain races can tap into the Time Vortex. The Time Lords can -- could. Humans, to an extent, but it drives them crazy, burns them up from the inside out after too long. And the Vidarans can, for a very specific purpose. They find a soul that's been split, and tailor their jewelry specifically to them. I don't know if they link it genetically or psychically or what, but they do. It's a sort of trade secret, they don't like to talk about it with outsiders."

* * *

_"There's an Earth myth about soul mates," the Doctor mused once Rose's laughter had died down enough to be heard over. "Humans used to be one complete whole, but they were split into male and female forms, with one half of a soul in each. Sometimes two humans find the other half of that part."_

_"So there's another me out there?" Jack had replied, giving a smirk. "Sexy."_

_"Just when I think your narcissism can't reach another level, you find a way to surprise me."_

_Rose's laughter redoubled, and she grabbed at the railing to keep from falling to the floor. "Only Jack would bring about the ruin of the universe by shagging himself!"_

* * *

"There's no such thing as soul mates, Jack," Gwen said, shaking her head sadly. "Only people who can make us happy."

Jack scoffed, tucking the necklace into his shirts and feeling unaccountably sorry for Rhys. The metal was warm against his skin. "Sometimes, Gwen, there are people who just get you, who understand things about you that you don't get. People who slot themselves into your life so perfectly that it's hard to imagine that they were never there to begin with."

"I know."

Jack looked back down at his papers, suddenly unable to meet Gwen's intense gaze. "Ianto does that. He... just fits. I need him. He makes me feel human again."

Gwen's demeanor changed, and it felt like Jack had jumped from the sweltering summers of the Boeshane Peninsula to the dark side of Pluto. "I thought _I_ made you feel human again."

"You do. You make all of us feel human, like there's actually a point to what we're doing instead of just interesting repetitive tasks." He risked looking up at her, finding her to be about as angry as he expected. "But for me, Ianto makes me feel human, he makes me feel normal. He makes me afraid to die, because I don't want to wake up to see his tears."

"But why... why _him_?"

"Because it's just him."

"But why? How did you know?" The unspoken _Why not me?_ hung in the air between them, as thick as if she'd said it aloud.

"I just knew."

* * *

_He was bleeding, a thin trickle of blood down the side of his face. Ianto Jones, the name said in those beautiful Welsh vowels he'd admired in his coworkers for a century. He'd saved Jack's life -- well, one of Jack's nine million lives -- and didn't make the typical 'oh dear sweet lord, it's an alien' fuss that the locals tended to make._

_In fact, he'd been far too knowledgeable about the Weevils._

_Jack knew he should think of Ianto as a threat, but he just couldn't. There was something about Ianto that made Jack want to run to him and kiss him stupid. Not an unusal reaction to someone who'd rescued him from certain death._

_If it wasn't for the knocked-out Weevil, he might have offered to take Ianto to a bar, probably more. Then again, if it wasn't for the Weevil, Ianto Jones might not have appeared, Gift of the Gods as he was._

_The joined Vidara necklaces shifted against his chest as he hoisted the alien over his shoulder, the metal fairly humming with energy, and Jack felt his breath catch in his chest. Him. This was the one who was going to get the other half. He'd wanted to give it away, to Estelle, to many, many others, but he'd never been able to bring himself to do it._

_Ianto Jones was dangerous. He would drive Jack to distraction and back. He couldn't have someone so suddenly precious to him in the danger Torchwood presented._

_He turned and walked away._

* * *

"From the moment I saw him, I just knew. And then when I saw him again, it was so damn hard to walk away from him."

* * *

_"We could use the help, you know," Suzie said conversationally._

_Jack made a noncommittal noise as he watched Ianto Jones pace outside the Information Booth._

_"He can handle a Weevil."_

_Jack 'hmmed' again, leaning into his hand. Even just looking at him on-screen, Ianto made Jack's heart skip beats. This was all sorts of not good._

_"He's got promise, his file from Torchwood is nothing but glowing review after glowing review."_

_Jack sighed a little, cocking his head to the side as he watched Ianto. Damn his ass looked good in those jeans..._

_"It's obvious you like him."_

_"Says who?" Jack asked, looking up at her._

_"Says me!" She laughed, taking her glasses off and tossing the folder down onto the desk in front of Jack. "So are you going to take the Lift or are you going to go hire him?"_

_"Neither." He shut of the CCTV and stood, grabbing his jacket. "I'm going to go tell him to get lost." Whether he liked it or not, it was for his own good._

* * *

Gwen shook her head. "Jack, I just... why Ianto?"

"I don't know, okay? I didn't pick him out of a line up and go, 'You, in the suit, with me'. I mean... Gwen, we're from completely different times. It's lucky I even found him."

* * *

_Ianto looked so much closer to his true age when he slept. The others probably wouldn't recognize him if they saw Ianto like this, with his hair sticking out at all angles and his face still softly flushed from excursion, those beautiful pale lips slightly swollen._

_Jack reached out to touch Ianto's face gently, smiling when Ianto shifted a little in his sleep and curled up against Jack's side. One of the Welshman's arms came out to loop loosely around his waist and Jack laughed softly, kissing Ianto's forehead._

_It was in the quiet, at times like this, that Jack realized just how perfectly Ianto had situated himself into Jack's life. He hadn't even known the man for two years and Jack couldn't believe how he'd managed to survive without Ianto in his life._

_Ianto Jones. Even the name was enough to make Jack smile. Just the sound of his footsteps in the Hub, the way he rolled those beautiful Rs, or hearing him sing softly up to Myfanwy in Welsh when it was feeding time made little shivers of pleasure go down Jack's spine._

_The others (read: Owen) teased Ianto about his near-psychic abilities when it came to Jack, knowing just what their Captain needed before anyone else did, but they didn't realize that it ran both ways. After the Cyberwoman in the basement (Jack still refused to call her Lisa. Lisa Hallet died in Canary Wharf), it had been Jack to put the shattered pieces of Ianto back together again, a quiet presence in Ianto's grieving for the man to turn to, someone who understood the deep-down desperation of wanting to save a loved one and damn the consequences. They'd slowly made their way through Ianto's flat, packing up everything Ianto wanted gone. Ther were things that they'd tossed out or donated (a half-used bottle of her perfume, the half-closet and still-packed boxes of her clothes), but there were some things that Jack had known Ianto would want some day and he'd rescued from the trash (the boxes and boxes and boxes of photos of him and Lisa, looking so gloriously happy. the little diamond ring that had been taken on a trip to London and buried at her empty grave site)._

_They'd known each other so oddly instinctively intimate in those first days -- how Jack liked his coffee, how to organize things just so to make Ianto give that small smile of satisfaction. Their bond had only strengthened and deepened over time, even though both of their not-quite betrayals to one another._

_His hand slipped down Ianto's face and neck, his fingertips carefully stroking the golden chain around Ianto's neck. It was funny to think that his other half had been born thirty centuries before him._

_The Universe sure had a twisted sense of humor sometimes._

* * *

Jack sighed and rubbed at his face. "I don't know what I'm going to do when he dies," he said aloud. He realized that he needed sleep. He'd thought it, certainly, but never actually admitted it.

Part of him hoped he'd just drop into a coma from shock when it happened. He didn't think he'd be able to survive the loss.

His second was quiet, far too quiet. He looked up to see her looking away at some invisible spot halfway across the room. Her eyes were a bit glazed over. "Gwen?"

She snapped out of it, blinking rapidly as the sheen in her eyes dissipated somewhat. "I just... I didn't know. I'm sorry."

"Ianto's a private person. He doesn't like to be completely showy like me." It was one thing he admired about Ianto, his ability to play the Straight Man to Jack's Wild Card. Just another way they complimented one another.

"No, I meant--"

There was a knock at the door frame, and they both turned to the sound. Ianto stood in the doorway, looking exhausted and holding a Styrofoam cup. "'M sorry, didn' mean to interrupt," he said, his Welsh accent thicker than normal in his tiredness. "I got your coffee, Gwen."

Gwen pushed off the desk and walked around to him. The necklace had come out of his shirt again (Tosh had demanded a second look when Ianto handed over their coffee), and it glinted against the dark fabric. She glared a little at the necklace before taking the cup from him. She muttered a "Gotta go, Rhys is waiting," as she hurried out of the Hub.

Ianto blinked after her owlishly before looking at Jack. "I missed something."

"Not really." Jack pushed his paperwork aside and rubbed at his face. "Staying the night?"

"D'you even have to ask?" Ianto replied, heading to the hatch that entered into Jack's private quarters.

"I'll be down in a moment," Jack called out as the dark head of hair disappeared below ground. "Gonna power the Hub down."

"Done, _cariad_," Ianto's sleepy voice replied, and Jack's face broke into what he knew was a completely sappy grin. He loved it when Ianto called him that. "Now get your arse down here, 'm tired."

Jack laughed and clicked the lamp off. "Sir yes sir!"


	3. Leading Back To Rome

Chapter Three: Leading Back to Rome  
lj community dwtwprompts prompt: Magical  
Date Written: 4/22/08  
Rating: PG-13/T to be safe  
Word Count: 1,575  
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, Team, Doctor  
Spoilers: Torchwood seasons 1 & 2, major for _To the Last Man_ and _Something Borrowed_  
Warnings: Het AND gay! Whoo!

* * *

_In medieval Wales, United Kingdom, Earth, young men used to carve intricate spoons to give to heir sweethearts. The spoons included symbols carved into them, such as hearts for love and keys to signal protection. They also showed the girl's father that her suitor was capable of caring for a family. If the girl accepted the spoon, it was hung in the couple's house._

_In the house Ianto had grown up in, a crudely-hewn spoon hung over the front door. His father was a horrible woodworker, always better with a needle and thread._

_His mother still smiled whenever she saw it._

* * *

Toshiko left the Hub after packing away Tommy's clothing, Owen following after her barely five minutes later. Gwen was also looking upset and just a little bit lost on what to do with the rest of the day.

"Go home to Rhys, Gwen, and don't argue with me," he said, even as she opened her mouth. "We'll keep an eye on things."

"If you're sure..." she replied, gathering her things and patting down her jeans to make sure she had her mobile and car keys.

"I'm sure. Nothing me and Ianto can't handle for a bit, and if we can't, we'll call you in."

For some reason that upset Gwen and she flounced out of the Hub, muttering to herself in Welsh. Jack cocked his head to the side, scratching his head. Women. Even when he'd spent those two weeks as one, he'd still never understood them.

* * *

_On Gallifrey, unions between Time Lords took place outside the Citadel, in the fields of long crimson grass. The ancestors of the Time Lords had erected an archway carved out of stone amid a grove of silver trees, in an area where the fabric of Space and Time was stretched thin. The Time Lords, in their reverence of times long past, had kept the landmark in pristine condition. Marriages between two (or sometimes more -- triads were not uncommon among the long-lived Time Lords) Gallifreyans took place underneath the arch, the lovers pledging themselves to one another for the rest of their remaining regenerations as their friends and family watched._

_The Doctor had never gotten married. He'd had a beloved of course, a beautiful woman with a quick wit and a fiery spirit their children had inherited. She'd been a rebel too, refusing to go with the norm. Oh, they had tried, planned a wedding but it had never taken place; while their friends and family had been waiting, sitting underneath the trees for the happy couple, the happy couple had been busy conceiving their first child._

_She'd fallen in battle against the Daleks, not long after their youngest child entered the Academy. She'd never seen their grandchildren, which was truly a pity._

_It was only when his eldest son had gotten married, everyone happy and smiling as the sky faded into a burnt orange and leaves rained down upon them in shades of silver-gold, that the Doctor thought that maybe, just maybe, they should have gone through with it.  
_

* * *

Jack found Ianto in the Archives, going through the group photographs of Torchwood teams that had come and gone, the box with Tommy's clothing in it at his feet. Even before he'd found his lover, Jack had known that Ianto was in a depressed mood, they all were.

Ianto turned when he heard Jack coming up behind him, holding out a sepia-colored picture of him and another Torchwood employee, a woman with close-cropped curly brown hair. "Susan!" Jack said with a laugh, taking the picture. "Susan Longfellow. You'd have liked her. Tough as nails." He winked at him and mouthed _big lesbian_ as he handed the picture back.

Ianto managed a smile and tucked the snapshot back into its proper place. "You're in all of them, for a century. The evidence in our own Hub, and it took a bullet to the head for the others to realize that you couldn't die."

"None of them ever really spent any time here, if they needed something I'd get it for them. Especially after you banished them from your Archives."

"They should have paid more attention in school, Jack."

Jack laughed and held his hand out. "The others went home and, I don't know about you, but I could use a drink."

Ianto put the file up properly and shut the filing cabinet. "It has been a long day," the Welshman agreed, taking Jack's hand and letting his captain lead him out of the Archives.

The box was left on the floor.

* * *

_In the 51st century Boeshane Peninsula, life was always in flux, and the culture reflected it. A lover that was there today could be dead tomorrow. The people learned to live for the moment, marrying and divorcing as the whim took them._

_Official records weren't kept in the little volatile outposts like the one Jack had been born in, so marriages were rarely more than two little rituals that took place when a new couple moved in together; the owner of the house the couple were living in carrying the new resident over the thresh hold and, occasionally, an exchange of rings. Jack's parents had been married in a more archaic sense, with a ceremony that had been presided over by the mayor, and had stayed monogamous for their relationship._

_Jack had been married four times before the Agency stole his memories: Richard, Lizzie, Tup and Crimson. Tup had dropped him when she'd tried to carry him through the door and they'd laughed and fucked right there in the open doorway._

_They'd divorced three days later._

_Tup had been a bridesmaid at his next wedding.  
_

* * *

"It never works out, does it?"

Jack looked up at Ianto from across his desk. "What doesn't work out?"

"Relationships with people from across time," Ianto replied. The man was looking down at his cup of coffee, his dark hair hiding his blue eyes. "Toshiko and Tommy, Owen and Diane."

"It's a dangerous game to play," Jack said in a quiet voice. "It's the ultimate form of culture shock: Everyone speaks the same language, but none of the same values apply. I mean, look at how English slang has changed in the past... ten, twenty years."

* * *

_"Early 21st century slang, is 'cheesy' bad or good?"_

_"Bad."_

_"But 'bad' means good, isn't that right?"_

* * *

"Some people just can't handle it." He laced his fingers together, giving Ianto a critical look. "Ianto, if you want out--"

"No!" Ianto's head snapped up, his blue eyes wide with fright. "No, no, Jack, never, I just..." He sighed and set the mug on Jack's desk, finding a bare spot among the classified papers and reports strewn about it. "It's just, you won't die. Ever. I will. I might not wake up tomorrow. And even then, there's always the chance that something'll happen and we'll get stuck somewhere in the past or in the future, away from one another."

Jack pushed his chair back from his desk, beckoning Ianto over. When the Welshman did as he wanted, the Captain pulled his lover down into his lap. Ianto shifted a bit to get comfortable. He watched, his head cocked to the side in curiosity as Jack reached into his undershirt and brought out a golden necklace on a double chain. The pendant was plain and flat and a little thick, double-edged like a locket.

Jack reached behind him and undid one of the chains, twisting the pendant, which fell open in his hands. The inside was decorated, alien script that looked like cuneiform inlaid in stone into the metal, and dips that were in one side had complimenting raises on the other, so they fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.

Ianto hadn't realized he'd reached for the other piece until he had fastened it around his neck. Once he realized what he had done, he reached back to undo the clasp, but Jack shook his head and took Ianto's hands into his. "It's for you anyway."

"Why? How--"

Jack touched his face with one hand, cupping his cheek to pull him close for a kiss. "I'm yours, 'Yan, for as long as you'll have me."

Ianto felt his heart stop for a moment, two. Then time righted itself and he felt himself smiling widely. "You'll regret that long life of yours then, Captain."

Jack laughed and hugged him close, bumping noses with him. "Never."

* * *

_In the 21st century, in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom, Earth, in a secret underground base, Jack Harkness gave Ianto Jones his half of a Vidara necklace._

_Seventeen million, eight thousand four hundred and ninety-two light years away and seventeen Earth centuries before, a young Vidaran woman looked into a silver mirror and saw a split soul come together, the two halves fusing together in a brilliant flash of colored energy. Reverently, she picked up a brush and, dipping it in a pot of ink first, carefully wrote the names of the two splits in her own language._

_The soul would endure much hardship, both as halves and as a whole. A protection spell for this one, hidden in a necklace, made of the strongest metal she could forge._

_She smiled as she slowly sketched the design on her workstation. A human soul, too. Even if they figured out the function of a Vidara necklace, they'd never realize that a couple wearing Vidara jewelry was a legal form of marriage recognized by most intergalactic governments._


	4. It's So Nice To See That Insanity

Chapter Four: It's So Nice To See That Insanity Translates  
lj community dwtwprompts prompt: "The More Things Change, the more they remain... insane." -- Michael Fry and T. Lewis  
Date Written: 4/23/08  
Rating: PG/K+  
Word Count: 1,934  
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, Team  
Spoilers: Torchwood seasons 1 & 2, particularly past _Something Borrowed_  
Warnings: Crack-ish ending  
Author's Notes: This was requested by reviewers. I love you people! Honestly, I thought these were pure crap, and I was gonna abandon the table... major thanks in particular to talcat for the plot bunny, this is all your fault!

* * *

There were many, many, _many _things at Torchwood Three that were different from the way Torchwood One was run. Yvonne Hartman had often complained (loudly, to a great many people) about Jack Harkness and his backwards team at Three.

Ianto loved it. This, _this _was the way Torchwood was supposed to be run. Protecting humanity, serving Crown and country, yes, but not the way it used to be. Before it had been smash-and-grab, humans exhibiting the same scum that they were trying to protect themselves from.

Under Yvonne's regime, he'd never be having a conversation with an alien visitor, and he wouldn't be asking the very awkward question, "Can I get you something to eat, or to drink?" to a being he wasn't quite sure was male or female -- or both, or neither.

Jack's way was oh-so-much better.

* * *

_"First contact night!" Jack said with a smile, clapping his hands together in excitement as the team fought with the canvas tent. "Sometimes I love this job, I really do."_

_Ianto wiped the back of his hand over his forehead, looking up at Jack and smiling a little. Jack's excitement was contagious, and his team had been infected. Ianto himself had been grinning from ear to ear all day. Tosh had been a bundle of energy and frazzled nerves as she made sure all the translation technology was going to work. Owen was looking forward to new alien DNA to profile. And poor Gwen had been banned from caffeine since she couldn't sit still from the gut-turning, exciting dread of her first face-to-face._

_Jack put his hands in his coat pockets. "And the best place to land, too, the Welsh countryside!" He smiled and turned, looking over the fields of emerald green. "Fresh air, quiet serenity... he may not want to leave!"_

_"So it's definately a he then?" Gwen asked, looping the rope around the stake at her feet. Her nerves were showing._

_"No idea." Jack grinned. "Could get a blob of goo that'll just burble at us. That's the fun of it!"_

_Ianto rolled his eyes, but couldn't stop grinning._

* * *

The alien's name was Odari, and was a member of the race known as the Blatumni, from a planet called Ouidophont. They were mentioned in passing in the archive notes, actually speaking to him had been Ianto's inner researcher's dream -- wet as he was.

Ouidophont, as it turned out, was similar to Earth in the fact that it was mostly composed of water (95.8, to be precise). Odari -- who was male, as they'd found out when Gwen had asked in her point-blank way -- looked humanoid. He could walk upright and had, but he was used to the weightlessness of swimming and quickly sat as soon as he could. He had very long webbed fingers and toes and huge black eyes with just a hint of purple iris around the gigantic pupils. His skin was very similar to a squid or an octopus, changing pigments from the light blue he had been when he'd exited his craft to the green and gray of the tent walls and grass floor, and shimmering softly.

After about ten minutes of talking, he'd managed to gasp out -- oh so politely -- that he was dreadfully sorry, but would it be capable for them to spare some water? His skin needed to be kept moist, and he was afraid he was starting to dry out. Ianto had fished out a handkerchief and carefully patted bottled water over Odari's face and neck while Tosh rigged a makeshift water sprayer out of the miscellaneous stuff they kept in the kit in the back. When they'd started the sprayer up (with a mixture of 20 salt and 80 water), Odari had smiled at them, revealing two perfect rows of blue-tinted teeth.

Toshiko and Owen were currently checking out the Blatumni spacecraft, while Gwen, Jack and Ianto picked the poor alien's brain about its culture and himself.

* * *

_Long, clammy fingers wrapped around Ianto's wrist as he turned to move and the Welshman smiled down at him politely. "Yes? Is there something more?"_

_There was a pause as the translator processed Ianto's words into the sharp sonar that made up Blatumni speech and the alien replied, his other hand coming up to touch Ianto's silk tie._

_"This," the translator supplied. "It is beautiful. What is it?"_

_"It's called a tie, it's made of a fabric called silk." He grinned as Odari fingered the silk carefully. "Do you like it?"_

_The alien nodded and spoke again. "It feels like water," the translator explained after a moment._

_Ianto loosened the tie and slipped it off, handing it over. "Here. I have many more."_

_A tie-tying lesson had followed the exchange. Odari was a quick study._

* * *

The night slowly dragged on, and finally, just as the sun rose, both parties had exhausted every curiosity they had. The six of them, five humans and one Blatumni, threw the tent flaps open and watched the sun come up over the Welsh hills.

Ianto suspected that Odari had been moved to tears by the scene but it was hard to tell, what with the water still spraying over him.

Everyone looked tired, but a cheerful tired. And they were all damp from the spray, but no one seemed to mind. They all had slowly shed layers as their clothing got wet and clingy and were down to what was considered just barely modest: Gwen was pulling at her soaked tank top (all were glad she hadn't gone with white tonight. flashing a visiting representative would have been in bad taste, even if he might not have noticed) and squirming in her wet jeans. Toshiko's hair had fallen out of the clip she'd had it in and it now hung loosely around her pretty smiling face, and Owen was frowning a little at his leather jacket, which was surely ruined by now -- both of them were wearing what could be considered the most, and were drier since they'd spent half the night outside the tent. Jack had lost his button-up somewhere around two in the morning, his braces hanging loosely at his hips and his white undershirt soaked through, revealing a little glimmering bulge of gold trapped between the clinging white and his skin.

Ianto ran his fingers through his wet hair, slicking it back away from his face. It was going to be fun peeling Jack out of that wet clothing, and he was sure it was going to be a mutual joy.

His shirt tugged uncomfortably as he moved and Ianto sighed a little, unbuttoning his shirt sleeves and undoing the top two buttons of his shirt. Finally, he felt like he could breathe again, without wet weight clinging to him. He settled back against the chair, smiling a little and watching the scenery light up.

After about five minutes, he got the very distinct feeling he was being analysed and looked over. Odari was studying him, those big eyes narrowed in concentration. The alien gaze flicked over to Jack and then back, then to Jack again before realizing something. His mouth made a little 'o' of surprise and he clapped his hands together.

Sometimes things tended to be the same for different alien cultures. It was a lovely surprise when it did.

The entire team turned to look as Odari said something to him, then looked at Jack and pointed. "I didn't realize you were married!"

Ianto's face must have looked priceless, because Owen burst out laughing. "Married? Him? No way!"

"Tosh, are you sure that thing's working right?" Gwen asked, pointing to the translator.

Toshiko frowned. "It's been working properly all night!"

Odari pointed to Jack again, then reached out to touch Ianto's necklace. "They wear matching necklaces." He looked at Ianto. "You are married then, yes?"

Ianto smiled politely but shook his head. "No, not married," he said, trying to keep the note of disappointment out of his voice. "On Earth, a married couple wears rings."

"Like this," Gwen said, holding up her left hand to show her wedding band and engagement ring.

Odari shook his head again, touching the necklace. "No, married. The necklaces are special."

He suddenly stood and stumbled out to his ship, the others following him. Ianto looked at Jack, reflexively touching his necklace. "Jack?"

Jack shrugged in response. "Maybe a necklace is the Blatumni equivalent of a wedding ring," Jack theorized. "It's not like they can wear rings with their hand webbed like that."

Gwen let out a little 'hmn' at Ianto's other side, twisting her rings as they watched Odari come back out of his ship. He was holding what looked like a ray gun from an old science fiction b-movie. Toshiko, Owen and Gwen instinctively reached for where their weapons normally were, but Jack and Ianto didn't move -- none of them were armed anyway.

Odari pressed the little gun into Ianto's hand, smiling and patting his face (and leaving a wet spot on his cheek). "For you." He smiled and touched the tie around his neck first, then touched Jack's shirt. "For you both."

* * *

_"So, here's the million dollar question," Jack asked once they were all dry and back at the Hub, "what's this thing do?"_

_"Don't know," Tosh replied, already at her computer station. "We could scan it, then try to reverse engineer it."_

_"I don't think it's dangerous," Ianto said. "Odari said the Blatumni hate conflict, and he just didn't seem to be the type."_

_"And it's possible we had a faulty translator," Owen argued back, ignoring Toshiko's scoff of protest._

_Gwen picked it up, turning it this way and that. She ended up with what could be considered the barrel-end facing Jack, making him duck._

_"Jesus Christ, woman, do I have to take you off weapons clearance?!"  
_

* * *

"Good morning, sir."

Jack laughed a little and sat back in his chair. "Ianto!"

Ianto smiled and crossed the floor, a cup of coffee in one hand and a plate in the other. He leaned in to give Jack a (far too) brief kiss. "Good morning, Jack."

"Much better."

"Your coffee." Ianto set the cup down, still holding the plate at an angle where Jack couldn't see it. "And we figured out what the device was that Odari gave us last week was, sir."

"Oh?" Jack asked with a smile. Ianto was always all business when the others were in the Hub. Jack thought that Ianto liked winding him up with the 'sirs' and 'Captains'. "And what was it?"

Ianto set the plate down in front of Jack, showing him two slices of perfectly-browned bread.

* * *

_They were in his kitchen._

_That in and of itself was bad enough. While Tosh at least tried to clean up after herself, Owen and Gwen tended to leave messes that Ianto's young nieces and nephews couldn't outdo._

_There was the suspicious zapping sound of alien tech, followed by an outburst of laughter and a "Let me do it this time, Tosh!" from Owen._

_Ianto stepped into the kitchen just in time to see Owen point the little gun at a poor slice of white bread lying on a plate on the counter. He pulled the trigger and the bread smoked slightly, turning a light brown without damaging the plate.  
_

* * *

"It's a toaster. An alien toaster. He thought we were married, and he gave us a bloody toaster."

Jack laughed so hard he fell out of his chair. Ianto rolled his eyes and picked up a piece of bread, biting into it.

It did make pretty damn good toast.


	5. Cariad, Dwi'n Unig

Chapter Five: Cariad, Dwi'n Unig  
lj user dwtwprompts prompt: Writer's Choice #2 -- Good-bye  
Date Written: 4/24/08  
Rating: PG-13/T  
Word Count: 2,909  
Characters/Pairings: Doctor, Donna, Jack/Ianto, Team, mentions Micky and Rose and slight Doctor/Rose/Jack  
Spoilers: Doctor Who up to current season, Torchwood seasons 1 & 2. Particular spoilers for _Boom Town_ (DW 01) and _Dead Man Walking_ (TW 02)  
Warnings: Sap, angst  
Author's Notes: I have been wanting to do this fic since I heard this song by Aimee Duffy (AKA Duffy, she's the one who's got that single "Mercy" going). It's so beautifully heartbreaking, and in Welsh! Listen to it via YouTube ( just search "aimee duffy"). Pardon for any possible misspellings in the title. Lyric translations are NOT mine, but are from her blog.

And this is the CUT version. You can find the uncut version on my blog or on AFF.N

* * *

Trouble was Torchwood's _modus operandi_. Ianto had realized this a long, long time ago, and accepted it; 4 times out of 5, everything Torchwood touched turned to Hell, in the most spectacular of ways.

The Doctor, however, made Torchwood look like innocent infants that could barely wave a rattle. The Time Lord was a trouble magnet. So when the TARDIS appeared over the invisible lift, Ianto knew that there was going to be trouble, and in short order. He'd placed a quiet call to Andy and to Kathy Swanson, telling them that he wasn't sure what was going to happen, but to stay on alert for anything odd.

Andy had laughed at him but had been the first to call when the Rift started hiccuping "_more of your spooky-dos_".

The 'spooky-dos' ended up being super-advanced technology that -- predictably -- ended up in the hands of local organized crime. Humans always made such a mess of things, on that he and the Doctor agreed. And while the Doctor swept in with chaos at his heels, he at least tried his damnedest to make things right.

What _right _the Doctor was working with, however, Ianto had no idea.

(And yeah, so he was still a little bitter over Canary Wharf, even though the Doctor had nothing to do with it and had actually saved the entire universe. But Hartman was dead and _de mortuis nil nisi bonum_, so the Doctor became a convenient scapegoat. Ianto was still perfectly polite to the Time Lord, and that's all that Jack could ever ask of him)

The Doctor and his new Companion. Donna Noble. She was loud and bossy and bouncy excitement and "what's this do?" and Ianto just loved her to pieces, mostly because she reminded him of a bit of Jack. Jack just fell in love with her too, going a mile a minute about this race and that planet and comparing notes about the TARDIS and the Doctor and just about everything else they could think of.

Jack was just a terrible gossip.

* * *

_"I like her."_

_Ianto smiled over at Jack, pouring him another cup of coffee. The two of them were sitting on the couch in Ianto's flat, discussing the latest visitors and wondering what sort of trouble they were bringing with them._

_"The Doctor doesn't like quiet, gives him too much time to brood," Jack explained, leaning his head on Ianto's shoulder._

_"Well he picked a good one then," Ianto replied, smiling. "I bet she even talks in her sleep."_

* * *

Everyone lived -- well, except for Owen, but he didn't count. They'd celebrated by shutting the Hub down early and going to a club close by, the Doctor and Donna in tow. Owen had looked forlornly at the pints of beers before Tosh took pity on him and pulled him onto the dance floor; he could still move at least.

Gwen had brought Rhys along with her and the two of them had been missing since after the first round. Ianto really didn't want to think too hard on what they were doing, although it was really a split choice: Either she'd brought Rhys in an attempt to make Jack jealous (Jack was jealous -- of the normalcy. he and Ianto would never have that in their lives, they were too deep into Torchwood to get out now), or as an excuse to avoid Donna. The two hadn't gotten along at all, which was amusing.

Jack pressed a kiss to Ianto's cheek, laughing at the resulting faint blush before standing and holding a hand out to Donna. "So, fellow Companion, shall we?"

Donna laughed and let Jack sweep her out onto the dance floor, leaving Ianto and the Doctor behind at the table.

Oh God, for another beer right now. Or three.

"So," the Doctor said conversationally, pushing his glasses up his nose. "You and Jack, eh?"

"Yes sir," he replied politely, looking down at his beer bottle, hoping the Doctor couldn't see his faint shaking.

"Good for him."

Ianto looked up in surprise and found the Doctor smiling at him, that easy wide smile that reached his ancient eyes. "I know you don't like me, Ianto Jones, but I think you're just what he needs."

"So that's why you're taking him away again." Ianto winced as soon as the bitter words came out of his mouth. "I'm sorry, I didn't -- "

"No, you did, don't apologize for saying what you feel. And I promise I'll return him to you, safe and sound."

* * *

_"He's asked me to go traveling with him again."_

_Ianto sighed softly, looking down at his coffee. This could use some brandy, really. "I was expecting that," he replied instead of getting up._

_"I could ask if you could come with me," Jack offered softly, moving his head just slightly so he could look up at Ianto without taking his head away._

_The Welshman shook his head. "No, Jack. I belong here, 21st century, cleaning up after three humans, a pterodactyl, and a basement of Weevils."_

_"Then I'll stay."_

_"Don't you dare. You'll just regret it. Go, be happy, figure yourself out."_

_Just come back to me._

* * *

Ianto nodded a little, mostly to himself, as he looked back down at his drink. Across from him, the Doctor stretched and let out a very theatric yawn.

"Well, I'm knackered!" the Time Lord announced. "I am really getting old. Tell you what, I'm gonna stay here tonight, get a bit of a lie-in, then pick Jack up tomorrow morning about, oh, let's say nine? Nine-thirty?"

There was a long pause before Ianto said, almost inaudibly, "Thank you, sir."

"Of course. Now off with you. I want one of you being dragged out of here within ten minutes, understand?"

The human stood and finished his drink, setting the bottle on the table with a clank. He straightened his suit before heading to where Jack and Donna were dancing to a slower song, both of them laughing as Jack lifted her up off the ground to spin her around playfully.

The Doctor turned to watch as Ianto politely tapped Donna's shoulder, asking permission to cut in. When the two of them parted, Ianto grabbed one of Jack's hands, pulling him close and giving him a kiss that left even the Time Lord panting from five meters away.

Jack was pulling Ianto out the front door three minutes later. Donna came over to the table and sat down, a professional pout on her face. "It's not fair! All the good ones really are gay or taken!"

"Oi," the Doctor protested.

"_All the good ones_," Donna repeated, very slowly so the Time Lord could understand her.

* * *

_"Aw, sweet, look at these two," Jack joked as Rose and Micky embraced (not like the lovers they were, but more like friends, or brother and sister), the Doctor looking on a bit forlornly. "How come I never get any of that?"_

_"Buy me a drink first," the Doctor replied, grateful for the distraction._

_"You're such hard work!" Jack complained._

_"But worth it!" He'd given a very self-satisfying grin at that._

_Both Rose and Jack had brought him a drink later that night._

* * *

Things had calmed down a little bit between Jack and Ianto by the time they made it back to the Hub, so when Ianto took Jack's coat to hang for him, the immortal kissed him softly. "Stay right here, I need to go do something real quick."

"All right," Ianto replied, suspicious but not pressing it.

"Don't you move from that spot now, 'Yan," Jack ordered, already walking towards his office.

"Not an inch," Ianto promised as he hung their coats up, standing in place as he waited for Jack.

He didn't have to wait long; Jack came back holding a little remote a few moments later. He stopped right by the touch, holding his hand out to Ianto and smiling. He didn't say anything; he didn't have to.

Ianto smiled back, moving to take Jack's hand. He laughed a little when Jack pressed a button on the remote before tossing it onto the couch. A soft piano arrangement began playing through the speakers rigged up around the Hub. Jack wrapped an arm around Ianto's waist, the two of them cheek-to-cheek as they swayed to the rhythm of the music. "Now this song's in Welsh, so if it says something really dirty or inappropriate, you have to teach me all the words," Jack said softly into Ianto's ear.

Ianto laughed at him. "I don't believe for a moment that you don't know -- " He stopped mid sentence as a sweet soprano voice began singing over the piano.

He looked up at Jack, swallowing around the sudden lump in his throat.

"What?" Jack pulled back to look at him. "Did I do something wrong?"

Ianto swallowed again, shaking his head. He wasn't going to ruin this moment right now, he could break down and cry once the TARDIS was out of sight.

"No, Jack, no, it's fine."

Jack frowned a little, still not believing him. "I figured it was a love song because it had _cariad _in it. Did I pick something wrong?"

Ianto gave him a smile, the hand on Jack's shoulder moving to touch his cheek. "No, _cariad_. It's just perfect."

* * *

At nine-thirty on the dot, Team Torchwood stood in a line to see their Captain off. Jack's bags had been packed and stashed away in the TARDIS the night before, so his arms were empty when Gwen and Tosh both broke first and ran to give him a hug. They both looked close to tears, so Jack had laughed and promised them some amazing souvenirs. Owen had punched Jack in the shoulder, lightly, knowing that Jack couldn't punch him back, and had ducked away stubbornly when Jack reached out to put a hand on his head.

Jack saved saying good-bye to Ianto for last, knowing it'd be the hardest. Ianto was hiding behind his office persona, all polite smiles. The man had probably been an actor in another life.

The Welshman held up a large thermos as Jack stepped over to him. "Coffee," he explained at Jack's raised eyebrow. "You've gotten addicted to the stuff, it wouldn't do to have you biting off people's heads from withdrawal."

"Oh, you thing of beauty," Jack murmured, taking the thermos from Ianto and pulling him close, pressing a searing kiss against his mouth in front of the TARDIS, the Plass, and all of Wales. Ianto's hands went up to card through Jack's hair, staking an outward claim to his property.

Long moments had passed when they pulled apart, a very flustered-looking Team trying pointedly to not watch them while completely oggling the boss as he snogged the tea boy. Jack touched Ianto's cheek carefully. "I'll come back, I promise."

Ianto smiled and gave him one final, lingering kiss before stepping back, out of Jack's arms before he broke down and begged him to stay. "We'll be waiting for you, Captain."

* * *

_Jack smiled and turned, opening the TARDIS door. He paused as he stepped inside, looking back over his team. "Now kids, play nice and listen to the sub, I'll be back by Monday," he tried to joke, earning half-smiles from everyone._

_His last image, before he shut the door, was of Ianto, the Welshman giving him a small wave, his other hand clenched tightly around his Vidara necklace._

_"Door's shut, we're all ready to go, welcome back aboard Captain!" the Doctor called out, starting to rush about the TARDIS console like a kid at Christmas. "I must say, the old girl's missed you!"_

_Jack smiled and patted the doors briefly as the unmistakable sound of the TARDIS taking off filled the air. Ianto would be safe. The team would be safe. He'd just be gone for a spin around space and time and be back in time for tea. It wasn't good-bye forever, it was Jack running down the street to catch a Weevil._

_Reassured, he turned and smiled at Donna._

_"Oh, did you bring along a snack then?" she teased, pointing to the thermos._

_Jack gave her a brilliant smile and kissed the container. Still warm from where Ianto had touched it. "This, my dear lady, is the finest coffee you will ever find, no matter where you go in the universe." He grinned as the Doctor snorted. "Just try it, I'm serious." He popped the cap off, handing it off to Donna as he started unscrewing the silver plug from the top._

_"Jack? What's this?" Donna asked, pulling out a folded piece of paper from where it had been hidden inside the cover. The Captain reached over and unfolded it with one hand, his breath catching when he recognized Ianto's neat script._

_The thermos fell to the TARDIS grating floor, splashing hot coffee all over Jack's shoes. He didn't even notice._

_"Doctor!"_

* * *

Ianto had turned away as the TARDIS dematerialized, squeezing his eyes shut in a futile attempt to stem the oncoming tears. Gwen had gone to put an arm around him but he brushed her off, tugging his coat tighter around him.

"Let's leave him be for a bit," Owen counseled, crooking a finger at them. "How about we go to the spot around the corner, pick up some breakfast so he doesn't have to?"

The girls gave each other a look that clearly said _so he does have a heart after all_ before agreeing, leaving Ianto alone in the Plass, leaning against the railing and into the salty sea air breeze.

The medallion of the necklace Jack had given him pressed into his palm as he clutched at it, fighting back tears. He was acting like a gigantic girl, honestly -- Jack was coming back, he'd promised. Promises in Torchwood were fragile things, but he knew Jack would keep his, keep this one.

Why did it feel like half of his soul was being torn away from him?

It was only the whoosh-whoosh-whoosh of what was only the TARDIS coming back that broke Ianto out of his stupor, and he turned just in time to see Jack come tearing out of the blue police box doors, running full-pelt across the Plass, the tail of his greatcoat flying behind him.

He swept his shocked lover up into his arms, kissing Ianto's laughing mouth. "What did you forget, Jack?" he asked, laughing and crying at the same time and knowing he looked a complete mess.

Jack pulled back and laughed as well. "What else, idiot? You!"

* * *

_Donna stared at Jack's swiftly-retreating figure, still holding the railing from when the Doctor had made a sudden about-face. She shook her head and looked over as the Doctor came to stand by her, grinning widely as Jack swept in for the kill, laying one hell of a kiss on Ianto. "What this about then?"_

_The Doctor leaned down to fish Ianto's note out of the puddle of coffee, the ink just beginning to run off the page but still legible:_

_"Jack,_

_You do know how to pick one hell of a song, don't you?_

_'My love I'm lonely tonight and where are you now?  
My love I'm lonely tonight can I meet you with the dawn?  
Touching's so simple which keeps me going through the cloud Touching's so simple which keeps me going._

_Stay here awhile Stay here close Stay with me, my love I love you_

_One little kiss to help me along on the long journey ahead,  
Remember my heart when you're far away but please stay till I'm better.  
My love I'm lonely tonight and where can I go?  
My love I'm lonely tonight I miss you so my friend'_

_I love you, Jack. More than anything. Please come home to me.  
--Ianto"_

_The Doctor folded the paper and tucked it into one of his suit pockets, watching as Jack pulled Ianto back towards the TARDIS with him. "Looks like we're going to have another guest, Donna."_

_"Doctor," Jack gasped out, standing in front of the door in what he thought was a defiant look. He looked just precious. "Doctor, I'm not leaving without him."_

_He opened his mouth to tell Jack that Ianto was perfectly welcome aboard the TARDIS, but then he noticed the chain around the human's neck. The memory flooded back to him, Rose laughing over Jack's most recent purchase, Jack himself telling the Doctor that he was crazy._

_"Of course your husband is welcome on board," the Doctor replied. "Now get in here, you'd survive the passage outside the box but he wouldn't!"_

_"Husband?!" the three humans cried out as Jack and Ianto stumbled into the ship._

_The Doctor grinned crazily as he set about launching. Oh yes, he so loved picking up hitchhikers._

* * *

On the other side of the Plass, Gwen Cooper unknowingly mirrored her boss as she dropped her cup of coffee to the ground. Toshiko ran into her from behind, not paying attention as she and Owen chatted about what they were going to do with the Time Lord tech the Doctor had let them look at.

"What, Gwen?"

"Jack, it was Jack," she said, her eyes fixed on where the TARDIS had stood moments before. "He came running out of the Doctor's ship, grabbed Ianto and took him away with him."

Tosh and Owen looked at each other.

"Son of a bitch," Owen swore. "Who's gonna make your coffee now?"


	6. I Can Resist Everything But Temptation

Chapter Six Point One: I Can Resist Everything But Temptation  
dwtwprompts prompt: Enthralled  
Date Written: 4/25/08  
Rating: PG-13/T to be safe  
Word Count: 2,582  
Characters/Pairings: Torchwood Team, Donna, Doctor, Jack/Ianto, TARDIS (That's right, people) mentions Doctor/Rose, Ianto/Lisa, and Martha  
Spoilers: Torchwood seasons 1 & 2, Doctor Who Seasons 01-04  
Warnings: None, really.  
Author's Notes: Here we go, into AU LAND! Part one of two. MUAHAHAHA! See, I'd been nice before!

* * *

"Okay, so Doctor, where are we?" Donna Noble asked as she stepped out of the TARDIS. Her skirts were bothersome, and she instinctively lifted them so they wouldn't brush against the ground. The petticoats were itchy, and she wanted to scratch in all sorts of inappropriate ways, but it could have been worse. Ianto had insisted on the petticoats when she'd turned down the hoop skirt, and he'd downright sulked when she'd turned down the corset.

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS as well, coming up to her left shoulder and looking around. "Tokyo, Japan. Meiji Era."

"Earth then?" Donna was slightly disappointed. They'd done Earth loads of times now, she'd wanted to go somewhere with at least some green men running about this time.

She'd been rather disappointed to find out that Martians did exist, but they were not green at all. Apparently they were a sort of reddish color, making it easier for them to blend into the Martian terrain. Life so wasn't fair sometimes.

"It's Ianto's first time out, I thought we'd break him in gently," the Doctor replied.

Donna laughed. "Oh yeah, like that'll happen."

"Hey!"

"Now children, do I have to spank both of you?"

Jack Harkness stepped out of the TARDIS, holding the hand of Ianto Jones. Ianto looked about, his eyes wide with childlike amazement. Donna wondered if she'd ever looked like that.

The three men were wearing suits; the Doctor in his favorite brown and his trainers (which Ianto noted with distaste. the man was a Time Lord, he should know better than to go around flashing fashions that weren't going to be invented for years yet), Ianto and Jack in matching navy blue that they'd pulled out of the TARDIS' wardrobe room. Ianto fiddled with his tie in a nervous gesture before smoothing his hands down his jacket sides.

"You lot get normal clothing, why do I have to wear this?"

"Because it's the style for Western women in the Meiji Era," Ianto replied. "It's Japan's industrial age, before World War I."

"It's not fair. We're with the Doctor, Jones, we're going to be running and doing all sorts of things that I'm not going to be able to do properly in this!"

The Doctor pulled an injured look, and Jack laughed. "She's got a point!"

"It's the experience of the thing," Ianto told Jack with an air of long-suffering patience. "_When in Rome, do as the Romans do._"

"And when in Pompeii, don't show up on Volcano Day," Donna replied, glaring at the Doctor.

"You know, I can turn this thing right back around--"

"Japan!" Jack called out, clapping his hands together to stem off yet another verbal sparring match between the Doctor and his new Companion. "Meiji period."

"I have a question, Doctor," Ianto added, giving him a small smile. "What happens if I speak Japanese while we're here? Does the TARDIS translate it?"

"You speak Japanese?" Jack tugged his elbow a little to get Ianto's attention, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes, Jack. Fluently. Tosh helped me with pronunciations and the like."

"We already tried that, it just makes it sound like you're speaking Welsh," Donna said, waving a hand of impatience.

"Actually, it reverts the language you speak at them back into your native tongue," the Doctor corrected. "In Pompeii it sounded like English, _but_ since the proper English language we're speaking right this moment didn't exist for them yet, it sounded Celtic, which translated into Welsh in those days."

"I don't technically have a native tongue," Ianto replied, looking at the Doctor. "I learned both Welsh and English growing up. What if I speak Welsh to them? Or another language, like French or Spanish or German?"

The Doctor crossed his arms, thinking. "Don't know. I imagine the TARDIS would just translate it normally." He paused. "Do you speak all those languages?"

"Well, then." Ianto tugged at his jacket a final time to get out all of the non-existant wrinkles before stepping out into the street. The Time Lord and his other two Companions watched as Ianto stopped a man passing in the street and asked him a question.

"I like him!" Donna declared, looking up at the Doctor. "Can we keep him?"

"Hands off, missy, I saw him first," Jack replied, heading off to catch up with his lover.

* * *

_"You're kidding me!" Donna cried, putting an arm around Ianto's waist. "So the guy really did speak Welsh?!"_

_Ianto nodded, his hand over his eyes, trying not to break into hysterical laugher._

_The Doctor looked over at Jack. "Only you, I swear."_

_"I didn't do anything!" the Captain protested._

_"He's with you, so you get the blame."_

* * *

Two days and a near civil war later, the four travelers stumbled into the TARDIS. The Doctor and Jack set about starting the engines up as Donna flopped onto the jump seat behind them, complaining once again about how much her feet hurt in these shoes, and what the hell possessed women to wear such things for God's sake!?

Ianto leaned against the railing, grabbing on for dear life when the TARDIS lurched into life, the whooshing noise growing louder then tapering off, the world slowly calming down under Ianto's feet.

"Where are we now?" Ianto asked as Donna threw one of her shoes at him. It was only fair, it was Ianto's fault, after all; he'd insisted she wear them.

"Haven't really picked anywhere specific yet," the Doctor replied, ducking behind the console for a moment and coming back up, wearing his black-rimmed glasses and unfolding -- a map? "We're just idling for the moment. Might just do a random jump, see where we turn up."

Jack came over to Ianto, sweeping him up in a big hug, lifting him off the floor and spinning him a few times, making Ianto laugh. "Well, what did you think? Running about, saving the world, trying not to get killed, seeing amazing things day after day?"

"Just like work, sir," Ianto deadpanned. "Should I go make some coffee?"

Jack laughed and kissed him deeply, his tongue leisurely sweeping into Ianto's mouth for a taste before he pulled back. "I need to contact the team, see what they've been getting themselves into."

"And change into something else, hopefully," the Doctor piped up. "You may not be dripping blood anymore, but your clothes smell awful."

"Yes Dad," Jack replied, giving Ianto one last kiss. He winked at him, leaning in to murmur in his ear, "Maybe you'll come find me later in the bath?"

"I'll see what I can do," Ianto replied, trying very hard not to blush under the oh-so-inconspicuous gazes of Donna and the Doctor. Jack touched his cheek before leaving Ianto alone with the others.

The Doctor gave Ianto a sly grin, chuckling as the Welshman developed a full-on blush. "You haven't been with him very long if you can still do that," he teased.

"Well, I'm jealous," Donna replied. "He sweeps in and flirts with me, then he drags his -- seriously, husband? -- along."

* * *

_"Husband?!" three human voices cried out in surprise as the TARDIS lurched into motion._

_"Yup! Those Vidara necklaces you're wearing, they're a legal wedding contract. Congratulations, Jack, I promise we'll pick you up a toaster when we land."_

_"Got one of those, sir," Ianto replied, grabbing at Jack. "We could use a kettle."_

* * *

"And what's with that 'can't die' bit?" Donna continued, pausing only for a breath. "I mean, honestly, he shouldn't be walking about."

Jack had taken a knife in the gut pushing Donna out of the way of a tavern brawl gone bad and slowly bled to death in one of the tavern's private rooms. The Doctor and Donna had settled the fight while Ianto held Jack and kissed him as he slowly died. Donna and the Doctor had come in as Ianto was washing the blood from Jack's hands and stomach, and Donna turned into the Doctor's shoulder and cried.

When Jack came back to life thirty seconds later, gasping and grabbing at Ianto's arm for dear life, Donna had let out a fantastic scream that entertained Jack to no end.

"He told me once, after he'd come back from traveling with you," he said, looking at the Doctor, "that a friend had used the TARDIS to bring him back from the dead, but that she'd messed up and hadn't put a stop point on his life, so he can't die properly."

"Rose," the Doctor replied. His eyes took on a far-away look, and Donna reached over to tug Ianto's sleeve.

"She got lost," Donna said, as if it explained everything.

And it did. "Canary Wharf." Ianto flashed a small, understanding smile at the Doctor's sharp look in his direction. "You weren't the only one who lost someone at Torchwood One."

The Doctor's intense gaze made Ianto want to squirm, but he held himself stock-still. If he could sit calmly through a board meeting with one of Jack's feet in his lap, he could handle this.

Donna looked from one to the other and back again, waiting for an explanation but not getting any.

"I almost forgot, Jack said you were there. Anyway, Rose opened up the ship," the Doctor tapped the console with his foot, "and looked into the Heart of the TARDIS. Absorbed the Time Vortex. Jack was dead, so she used Time itself to bring him back. And Time never stops."

"And now neither does Jack."

* * *

_"Doctor, I just realized. Where's Jack?"_

_The Doctor, newly regenerated with energy still thrumming through him, paused, his hand on a dial. "Rose, I'm sorry."_

_"Oh, oh God, Doctor, he didn't--" she gasped, sudden tears coming up. She covered her face with both hands, starting to sob._

_He moved to wrap his new arms around Rose, cradling her in his arms. "No, no, Rose, he's fine. He had something else he had to do, something very important so he had to stay behind. He said he'd miss you."_

_"Can we go see him?" she asked, tears still pouring down her face. "Please?"_

_No. Never. "We'll see." He smiled and touched her chin._

* * *

Tea. The man liked tea. Honestly, for an alien he was so totally British. It was sort of endearing, though.

He'd made coffee -- and tea -- for the four of them after dinner, while Jack and the Doctor tried to outdo themselves on who'd seen more fabulous things in their lives, while Donna and Ianto laughed and only half-believed them. It reminded him a bit of home, of sitting around the conference table eating take-away, lots of laughter and joking and 'Oh, come off it, that didn't happen!' being called out.

The TARDIS was amazing on the inside, and it also reminded him of the Hub, all hidden compartments and twists and turns and amazing secrets hidden behind wardrobe doors (Doctor. this is not a CS Lewis novel). The kitchen had been mind-blowing, with everything he'd ever want and need locked inside the kitchen cupboards, and the bedroom he and Jack had claimed -- Jack had insisted it was his old room when he'd traveled, but Ianto wasn't quite sure how Jack could tell -- had changed from the plain single bed and tiny chest of drawers he'd seen at first into a huge four post bed, a full dresser and a wardrobe up against the walls.

* * *

_The TARDIS was alive, Jack had explained once Ianto had sat on the bed and adjusted to the unexpected change. "She likes to make her passengers happy. She knew what we wanted, and gave it to us."_

_"She." It wasn't a question, just a statement, as if Ianto wanted to make sure he was using the correct pronoun._

_Jack laughed and patted the wall. "Knowing she's alive, can you call her 'it'?"_

_Ianto shook his head, smiling back. "How can I thank her?"_

_"Just love her," Jack replied, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him in for a kiss. "Thank her in your own way. The Doctor touches her, so did Rose. She seems to appreciate it when we do."  
_

* * *

Ianto was alone in the console room, gently running his hand along the spaces between the buttons and levers, his other hand holding a mug of coffee. He walked around a few times before moving to sit on the grating where the Doctor had been reading his map earlier, situating himself so his back was pressed up against the console.

"Thank you," he said softly, feeling a little like an idiot. The Doctor or Jack or Donna was going to walk in any moment now and think he'd gone mad, talking to himself.

As he sat there sipping his coffee, he felt the console grow warmer against his back, a sensation of happiness and contentment flowing over him, wrapping about him like a security blanket.

The TARDIS _was _alive, and she was happy he was there.

Ianto smiled and tipped his head back to rest against the console as well. "Thank you," he repeated, a little louder this time. "Thank you for giving me this, this something special to share with Jack."

The sensation was pulsing now, a deep rhythm resonating with his own heartbeat. She loved him.

* * *

_She loved him, as she had loved all the Doctor's Others, with an instant adoration, marking their brief lifespans into her Heart and holding it close._

_So much pain in such a tiny time. If she could make them happy, she'd do anything. Like with the Bad Wolf, who had wanted to be with their Doctor, who had wanted Jack Harkness as a fact, as something constant that would never leave. So had she, and she gave the Bad Wolf the power to do that._

_This one too, was sad, his sorrow borne deep down. She brushed against his mind and saw the loss of another, the fear of losing Jack, the fear of leaving Jack._

_She wanted to make him happy._

_She knew how to do it.  
_

* * *

The Doctor and Jack had been reminiscing about Martha Jones, savior of the universe. Jack had told him how she'd saved his team, helped saved aliens from the fate of a human who saw them as things, saved the world from Death personified and helped one of his team through subsequent zombification (just two words on that one: Only. Torchwood).

Oh Martha Jones. A credit to her species, giving hope to the human race.

Jack didn't notice, but he'd been playing with his necklace the entire time they'd been sitting in the library, sharing a glass of alien liquor Jack himself had picked up back when Rose had been with them. The Doctor was happy for him -- the light of the old Jack was back in his eyes every time the immortal looked at Ianto.

It made his hearts ache. He still missed Rose, missed her so much, wanted to go through the Void, but he couldn't bring himself to damn the consequences.

Jack paused halfway through his sentence, glass raised to his lips. His eyes widened and he set the glass aside.

"What is it?" The Doctor set his glass aside as well, watching Jack's unfocused gaze. "Jack!"

Jack looked up at him, eyes still unfocused. The blue depths had a hint of gold in them, the whisper of a song playing behind his voice as he said one word.

"Ianto."

The Doctor was running out of the room before Jack finished the second syllable.


	7. Are You Sure You Really Want To Do That?

Chapter Six Point Two: Are You Sure You Really Want To Do That?  
lj community dwtwprompts prompt: Lullaby  
Date Written: 4/26/08  
Rating: PG/K+  
Word Count: 1,874  
Characters/Pairings: Doctor, Donna, Doctor, Jack/Ianto, mentions the Master and Rose  
Spoilers: Torchwood seasons 1 & 2, Doctor Who Seasons 01-04  
Warnings: None, really.  
Author's Notes: And here we go, part two!

* * *

Ianto could hear singing. Not the resonating singing he'd heard in his dreams, but a quiet, oh-so-ancient song, in a language Ianto didn't recognize. He must be singing in English, Ianto realized, so the TARDIS was translating it back.

He realized with a small shock that he was probably the first non-Time Lord to ever hear the Language of the Time Lords.

He opened his eyes, blinking against the light coming from a lamp across the room. The Doctor was sitting in a chair, his gaze focused on a far corner of the room as he sang softly. The Time Lord had a lovely baritone.

Jack's singing voice was better.

"Oh, you're awake. About time, too!"

Ianto groaned a little and moved to prop himself up on his elbows. "Where's Jack?" he asked, his voice sounding sleepy and slurred in his own ears.

"Having a cup of tea with Donna."

Ianto frowned. "Jack doesn't drink tea. He had tea with the Queen last year and asked her for coffee instead. She was rather insulted."

The Doctor laughed and stood, moving the chair to beside Ianto's bed. "That sounds like Jack!"

Ianto smiled a little, lying back against the bed as the Doctor peered down at him. "Are you going to throw me off?"

The Doctor scoffed. "Please. The TARDIS would be angry, and I don't think I'll be able to get rid of you that easy!" He smiled at him, not the broad smile but a soft, worried smile. "What do you remember?"

Ianto frowned a little, putting a hand on his head. "There was this... this singing..."

* * *

_"It's like, there was this singing--"_

_"That's right. I sang a song and the Daleks went away."_

* * *

"The whole of the Universe, singing. It was beautiful, heartbreakingly gorgeous." He pulled his hand away and looked up at the Doctor. "Is that what you hear, Doctor?"

He smiled a little and brushed Ianto's hair back from his face. "Sometimes. It's usually a bit more like a filing cabinet, pieces of knowledge stashed here and there, in perfect order." He sat back, dropping his hand away. "But yes, when I looked into the Schism, I heard music too."

* * *

_"It was like a symphony!" The Doctor, oh so young and still bearing his ancient, now hidden name. "It was beautiful!"_

_The young Time Lords were handling their Initiation in different ways. Most were serious and reverent, quite a few cried at the sudden feeling of futility of everything, but a few laughed and bounced in excitement, hooked on the experience. They would grow up to be the adventurers, the renegades, the ones who would save the race over and over by fighting on the front lines._

_One was quiet, trying to tuck himself away and hide from the questions, from everyone. His hands were over his ears, as if he was trying to block out something._

_"What about you?" He'd shimmied out of his bed, hurrying over to the boy he'd stood by on the first day, who he already considered his best friend. "Did you hear music?"_

_The other nodded, his grip tightening on his head. Slowly, carefully, the young Doctor pulled the hands away, already trying to help. "What did you hear?"_

_"Drums," the other whispered. The future Master looked up, tears streaming down his face. "I heard drums."  
_

* * *

Ianto slowly sat up, tucking the sheets around his waist. "Jack. I want to -- I need to see him."

"You need to rest," the Doctor replied, putting a hand on his shoulder. "He needs a moment. You need a moment."

"Why? I'm fine. I've never felt better."

"Now. You had all of space and time in your head, Ianto."

"Jack," Ianto insisted. "Now."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, but inwardly grinned. Oh, this one reminded him of his youngest son. He'd been so stubborn too, full of spirit. He knew he'd be just fine.

Eventually.

* * *

_"Doctor!" Donna came rushing into the console room. "Doctor, it's Jack, he's--"_

_"Passed out?" the Doctor supplied, crouched down to touch Ianto's neck carefully, checking for a pulse. It was there, and strong. The light had been out of his eyes when he'd seen the Doctor._

_He'd survive. Well, he would have survived anyway._

_Donna moved around to Ianto's other side. "Is he okay?" he asked, touching the Welshman's hand carefully._

_"More or less." He sighed and stood, bending at the waist. "Help me with him. I'll get this side."_

_"Doctor, what happened?"_

_"Help me and I'll tell you."_

_Donna grabbed Ianto's arm, looping it around her neck as the Doctor did the same. "Those necklaces they wear, they're Vidara necklaces," the Time Lord explained as they pulled Ianto's limp body towards the nearest bedroom. "They're made for soul mates, two people -- usually lovers, but it's not a rule -- who have formed a strong psychic connection._

_"Humans have inherit psychic abilities. Most living organisms do, and the higher up the evolutionary chain your race is, the stronger it can become. Soul mates get bound up in each other's abilities, in each other's mind. If you notice, Ianto and Jack finish each other's thoughts, like they did when they were coming up with a way to break into the dojo back in Japan. They're more than in sync, they're at the same frequency."_

_"So when -- whatever happened to Ianto happened -- " Donna started slowly, reaching for the doorknob to the Doctor's room, jumping a little when the door swung open before she touched it. Donna still wasn't used to the TARDIS being alive._

_"Exactly. Jack felt it too."_

_They moved Ianto to the bed, Donna pulling off Ianto's shoes before they tucked him into bed and left the room. "You go get Jack, I'll be with you in a tick."_

_Donna opened her mouth but thought better of it and shut it, heading to the library. She could probably pull it out of Jack._

_The Doctor returned to the Console room, leaning against the wall. "Oh, you naughty, naughty girl," he scolded, crossing his legs. "You were plotting this, weren't you?"_

_He heard the TARDIS' laughter ring through his head._

_It sounded like Rose's._

* * *

"Oh, Ianto," Jack breathed, touching Ianto's face. "Ianto, Ianto, my beautiful Ianto, what did you do?"

Confusion clouded those beautiful blue eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Yan, I know. I saw it, I heard the music, I _felt _it." He took Ianto's hand and placed it over his heart. "You tied yourself to me."

Ianto shook his head a little. "What are you talking about, Jack?"

"Ianto, you made yourself like me. Infinite. Fact. Immortal. Don't you remember?"

* * *

_The console rumbled against Ianto's back, a pleasant roll that should have frightened him. Instead he found himself turning towards the sound, in an almost sleepy state._

_He carefully touched the console panel next to his shoulder, smiling as the panel slid away. A golden light lingered within, pulsing in time with the warm affection that still surrounded him._

_It was beautiful._

_He reached in to touch it, a little confused when the light didn't stay in one place. Soft soothing washed over him and he instantly relaxed, watching the tendrils of light as they slipped around his body, into him._

_There was music in his ears, a choir of angels -- no. The choir of Existence, everything singing in tones of perfection, their short bars tapering off after two or three. Songs, full-blown themes were there, but sung with the multitude, cut short by tragedy, by Time itself, but replaced just as quickly with another refrain._

_The Doctor's song was longer, but finite. It had a beginning and an end. Jack's -- he knew it was Jack's, it couldn't be anyone else, he just knew, as surely as he knew his own -- was the only constant, a lonely, melancholy melody threading through space and time._

_Ianto felt the tears slide down his face. So sad, it broke his heart._

_He reached out and plucked up an accompanying note, one that resonated perfectly with Jack's, one that was just as sorrow-filled, and he twisted it. Pulled and tugged and lengthened it, from the beginning of time to the implosion of All. Wound it tight around Jack's melody, creating a perfect duet. Full of Sorrow, and of Pain, yes, but also accompanied by resonating Joy, pure Bliss._

_Then he took a breath and exhaled, the golden light leaving him, the sudden deafening silence ringing in his ears._

_The Doctor burst into the console room, hair sticking up at all angles and glasses askew, the definition of the word 'panic'. Ianto smiled and grabbed his arms, laughing, the lingering joy making him feel drunk._

_Then he collapsed back onto the floor._

* * *

"Oh, _Duw_," Ianto swore, his eyes widening. It was true. He hadn't meant to pick his own soul, he'd just picked the one that was the best compliment to Jack's, the best pairing through the multitude of All.

He was completely ecstatic.

"Oh, damn, Jack," he murmured, pulling Jack close and hugging him tight. Neither of them would ever be lonely again. There was no one in the whole wide galaxy that would care for Jack better, who loved him more, than Ianto.

"We need to reverse this, Yan."

And just like that, Ianto's heart shattered into pieces.

* * *

_"I can't hear what they're saying!" Donna whispered, her ear pressed against the keyhole._

_The Doctor rolled his eyes and reached into his jacket pockets, pulling out two stethoscopes. He handed one over to Donna, tucking the earpieces of his into his ears._

_"How do you do that?"_

_"I told you before, remember?" the Doctor said easily, placing the flat end on the door. "Time Lord technology, they're bigger on the inside."_

_"Time Lord technology my arse," Donna replied, following his example._

_The Doctor grinned and shushed her._

* * *

"W-what?"

"Ianto, be reasonable," Jack said, pulling back to look at Ianto's face. "You can't do this. You can't _want _this."

The Doctor should have pitched him out into the void of space. It would have been kinder. "I do. Jack, Jack, I want this so much--"

"No, Ianto, you don't. Trust me." He cupped his face in his hands gently, smiling at him. "It's not everything the fairy tales make it out to be. It's Hell."

_No_, Ianto thought. _This is. Hearing you say these awful, horrid things, this is Hell._

He reached up and gently pulled Jack's hands away. He slowly slid out of bed, vertigo slamming him momentarily and making him grab at the bedside table as the world righted itself.

Jack stood and reached out to help him, but the Welshman just pointed at him, his finger shaking from the force of his anger. "Don't," he said, his voice hard. "Don't you _dare_, Jack Harkness."

The dizziness passed and Ianto stood, tugging the wrinkles out of his clothing before walking -- a little shakily, but on his own -- to the door.

The look on the Doctor and Donna's faces were priceless as Ianto threw it open, eyes wide in shock, hands holding the stethoscopes still suspended in midair.

"Doctor," Ianto said, drawing himself up to his full determined height. "Take me home."


	8. Forty Two Ain't Gonna Work This Time

Chapter Seven: Forty Two Ain't Gonna Work This Time  
dwtwprompts prompt: Paternal  
Date Written: 4/27/08  
Rating: PG/K+  
Word Count: 1,957  
Characters/Pairings: Doctor, Jack/Ianto, Team Torchwood  
Spoilers: Torchwood seasons 1 & 2, Doctor Who Seasons 01-04  
Warnings: Angst. Sorry, but it's there.  
Author's Notes: Seven's split again. laughs But no cliffs. This time. Title's taken from Douglas Adams, one of my favorite sci-fi authors. And a little Who trivia: Did you know that Douglas Adams actually wrote for the old school _Doctor Who_?

* * *

Ianto couldn't sleep.

That in and of itself wasn't surprising. Jack barely slept, something he attributed to his immortality. The few rare times Jack did manage to drift off, they ended up being catnaps, precious times where Ianto was afraid to even breathe, because even that minuscule motion would wake him up.

It would come in convenient, not being able to sleep. He'd be able to catch up on the paperwork he _knew_ was piling up back at the Hub.

He'd lost the escape sleep presented. Over the four years he'd worked for Torchwood, Ianto had trained his psyche to suppress anything while he slept. He'd close his eyes at night, and then open them in the next moment, the hours gone in a flash.

As a result he had few dreams. The ones he had were complete and utter nightmares.

So while Ianto would have loved to just have dropped down into a coma and wake up in a few years, he couldn't. So he did the next best thing.

He cleaned.

He cleaned for hours, for days, time slipping off into a quiet, contented blur as he scrubbed the TARDIS from top to bottom and the millions of miles between. He lost ten pounds from not eating, from the constant motion before the Doctor stepped in.

Stepped in with muddy trainers, on the floor he'd just scrubbed on his hands and knees. Ianto frowned and sat back on his heels, looking up at him.

"You know," the Doctor said conversationally, "You're the first human Companion I've had that didn't comment on the TARDIS' dimensions." Susan would have gotten a kick out of everyone's reactions, but she'd have adored Ianto for his lack of one.

* * *

_"Where do you want to start?"_

_"Um... the inside's bigger than the outside?"_

* * *

Ianto reached over to dip the bristle brush into the bucket next to him, warm soapy water flowing over his hand. "I was a researcher for Torchwood One. Things bigger on the inside are all across the universe, sir."

"Ah." The Doctor rocked back and forth on his feet, watching his newest Companion carefully.

"Also, my nephews are big Harry Potter fans, and Rowling's got things bigger on the inside all throughout her books," Ianto continued, shaking the excess water off the brush and going to scrub at the Doctor's muddy footprints.

* * *

_Ianto blinked as he looked down at his watch, frowning. There was no way it had gotten so late so quickly. Sure, his paperwork had taken longer than he'd expected it to take, but he'd lost about two hours somewhere as he sifted through receipts._

_Oh, he was getting old before his time._

_"What are you still doing here?"_

_Ianto turned towards the hidden Hub entrance and gave Jack a tired smile. "Sorry sir, I was just finishing up the expenses," he said, gathering his papers and tucking them away in a manila file._

_Jack chuckled knowingly. "Is Owen trying to get his porn written off?" the Captain asked, a fond tone in his voice._

_"He tried under 'Entertainment' this time," Ianto replied, ducking behind the beaded curtain to lock the papers up for the night. Jack's laughter floated towards him and Ianto added, "When I told him no, he said it was yours."_

_The Captain scoffed. "And what did you say to that?"_

_"Three things, sir." Ianto stepped back into the Information Booth, straightening up. "One, I can go through his browsing history. Two, frankly, the sites he visit are crap and you'd never pay for that quality. And three, your bill would be much, much higher than his."_

_Jack's roar of laughter gave Ianto enough time to shut his computer down. Ianto looked at his watch again and frowned a little at the time._

_"What is it, Ianto?"_

_"Oh! Oh, it's nothing," Ianto said, shaking his head and smiling. Jack raised an eyebrow and Ianto relented. "I was hoping to stop by the bookstore before I went home and pick up some books for my nephews." He shrugged. "I doubt they're open at one in the morning."_

_"Safe bet," Jack agreed. He was leaning against the counter now, watching Ianto. "You have three nephews, right?"_

_"Yes sir, my brother's sons." Ianto smiled proudly. "Eight-year-old triplets."_

_"Your poor brother."_

_"They're not all that bad. They're having a bit of trouble in their Welsh lessons, so I thought I'd help them out a bit."_

_"Oh? Get them some study books or something? Welsh for Dummies? Great presents, I bet you're the favorite uncle," Jack teased._

_"Actually, sir, I was planning on buying them the first Harry Potter book," Ianto said, gathering his things for the night._

_"I thought that book was standard issue to kids."_

_"They don't own it in Welsh." Ianto pulled his overcoat on, laughing a little at the incredulous look on Jack's face. "Don't look so surprised, sir, that's how I taught myself French. Douglas Adams," he added for clarification._

_"Ahh, a classic."_

_"If you say so, sir." He touched his pockets, making sure he had his mobile and his keys. "I'm about to lock up for the night. Do you need anything else before I go?"_

_"Nope." Jack pushed away, letting Ianto pass. "Have a good night."_

_"And you, sir."_

_When Ianto came into the Hub the next morning, there were three copies of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in Welsh on his desk._

* * *

"Ooh, J. K. Rowling, she would be a dream Companion," the Doctor said, looking upwards and grinning. "Her and Douglas Adams, fantastic man that he was. Then again, they'd probably write all my secrets."

"A true tragedy, sir. They might make up stories about you," Ianto deadpanned, continuing to scrub.

"Adams would probably do a fantastic job, it's old J.K. I'd worry about." The Doctor scratched the underside of his chin. "She might pull that 'epilogue' bit she did in Book Seven."

"What was that all about?" Ianto agreed, sitting back onto his heels to look up at the Time Lord. "If anyone ever needed to define the term _phoned in_..."

"I know! I told her it was fine without it, but she didn't listen."

Ianto blinked, a little confused at the sudden turn in the conversation. He gave a little head shake. "Why are we discussing Harry Potter?"

"You started it!" the Time Lord protested.

"I'll end it then." Ianto said, bending over to start scrubbing again. "Now if you don't mind, you're tracking mud all over my clean floor."

"It's my floor, technically; I can do what I want."

"You're being rude to the TARDIS," Ianto snapped. "I don't imagine she likes you dirtying her up like that."

"Oh, but she loves the cleaning you're giving her, so it's a necessary evil." He squatted down, pulling the brush from Ianto's hand. "But you need to stop now."

Ianto shook his head, reaching for the brush. "I'll finish up here--"

"No, Ianto. You need to stop now," the Doctor gently repeated, putting the brush into the bucket and pushing it away.

The stress, the worry, the heartbreak was getting to the Welshman. He reached for the bucket again, struggling a little when the Doctor held him back with surprising strength. "Doctor, let me finish--"

"No. Ianto, you're going to kill yourself." The Doctor carefully took Ianto's hands in his. "Look, look at what you're doing to yourself," he said, turning the human's palms up.

Ianto's hands were red and raw, covered in nicks and cuts in various stages of healing. He experimentally flexed his fingers, wincing as the pain suddenly registered in his brain. "Ow."

The Doctor smiled softly and helped him to his feet, resisting the urge to flinch when Ianto's bones cracked in protest. "Come on, let's get you into the infirmary, I'll patch you up."

"You have an infirmary."

"Of course! Now trust me, I'm a Doctor."

Ianto gave him an exasperated look. "The last time a doctor told me that, I nearly got blown up."

* * *

_"Remind me why I'm doing this again?" Ianto asked to no one in particular._

_"I need a test subject for the Singularity Scalpel," Owen replied, adjusting the knobs on the side of the alien device. "And you pulled the short straw."_

_Ianto sighed. His back was to Owen and he was holding his tea tray in front of him as requested, as the others looked on. An empty mug sat on the tray._

_"Oh, trust me, tea boy, I'm a doctor!" The device made downright frightening whirling noises, and Ianto almost buckled. "Okay, ready! Hold still now, Ianto," Owen warned as he pulled the trigger._

_Three meters to Ianto's left, a jar of formaldehyde exploded, the alien specimen within flopping to the floor with a wet splat._

_Ianto turned and threw the tea tray directly at Owen's head._

_"Okay, new rule!" Jack called out as Owen proceeded to turn the air blue, rubbing his forehead where the tray smacked him. "No more human test subjects until we absolutely know what we're doing!"_

* * *

The Doctor had a batch of nanogenes in his infirmary. They tickled a little, making Ianto smile as he watched the minuscule technology flit over his skin.

Toshiko would die if she saw this. Maybe he could talk the Doctor into showing her some of the technology when they went back to Cardiff.

Which reminded him. "Doctor. When are you going to take me back home?"

The Doctor let out a little bit of a pout. "Do you really want to leave so soon? You only got one trip."

"One was plenty."

"Oh, no it wasn't, Ianto Jones," the Doctor said, shaking his head, that wide smile back. "Not nearly enough. You didn't even get to see an alien planet!"

"I think I've had enough."

"Just one more trip," the Doctor urged. "Even if it's just a quick jump over to Jupiter for a look at that storm they've got going."

"No, Doctor. I'd like to just go home. Cardiff, as close to the 21st century as you can get."

"Why not? You've just arrived, there's so much to see! There's a planet called New Wales, it's in the 62nd Century -- "

"Because if I don't leave now, I never will!" Ianto suddenly shouted, interrupting the Doctor mid-sentence. "Because if I stay here any longer than I should, even for just one trip, I won't be able to say good-bye to this, to you, to J--" He cut himself off roughly, shaking his head.

The Doctor moved to sit next to him on the examination table, two pairs of legs dangling off the floor. "You're bound to him, Ianto. You have to face that somehow."

"Can't you fix it?"

So young, so much grief, and he hadn't even died yet. "No. What's done can't be undone. Fact cannot become Unfact."

Ianto laughed bitterly, the edge of hysteria in his voice. "At One, we called you Gandalf," he said, not noticing the Doctor's flinch. "You were magical to us, always coming back different, saving the day before disappearing off again. We thought you could do anything."

The Doctor shook his head. "I have rules. I have to follow them."

They sat in silence for minutes, not looking at each other as the clock on the infirmary wall marked steady time. Finally, the Doctor took a deep breath.

"He loves you."

"I know."

Those two little words were spoken with such genuine, heartfelt pain that they broke the Doctor's hearts into pieces. Someone was hurting, and he couldn't help. Ianto and Jack had to help themselves, and right now, the Doctor could only do one thing.

He reached out and pulled Ianto close, letting the child cry himself to sleep against his shoulder.


	9. And Bacon And Eggs For When You Wake Up

Chapter Seven Point Two: And Bacon and Eggs For When You Wake Up  
lj community dwtwprompts prompt: Drunk  
Date Written: 4/27/08  
Rating: PG/K+  
Word Count: 2,692  
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, Donna, Team Torchwood  
Spoilers: Torchwood seasons 1 & 2, Doctor Who Seasons 01-04  
Warnings: More angst, this time it's Jack's turn! And mentions character death  
Author's Notes: Second part of chapter seven.

It has also come to my attention that the chapter system I have may potentially be confusing. Every whole number is a chapter. Some chapters have multiple parts, thus the .1

* * *

Jack, as a rule, did not indulge in drinking. He had before becoming a con man, of course: At the Academy, drinking out the week's lectures during breaks and turning up with a hangover the next class period. During his time at the Agency, coming back home after seeing such awful historical atrocities that brought back way too many bad memories.

After he'd left, when he started trying to con the Agency into doing what he wanted, he stopped the excess. A drunk con man was a stupid con man, and a stupid con man was usually a dead con man. Instead, he'd fake it, have one or two glasses then pretend he couldn't hold his liquor, or nurse his first glass all night as his mark got properly pissed, upset over his bad fortune.

* * *

_"Simple enough, really. Buy some harmless piece of space junk. Let the nearest Time Agent track it back to Earth. Convince him it's valuable and name a price. When he's put fifty percent up front, Oops! German bomb falls on it, destroys it forever. He never gets to see what he's paid for. Never knows he's been had. I buy him a drink with his own money and we discuss dumb luck. The perfect self-cleaning con."_

* * *

After he'd become immortal, when he was back in the late 1800s, he'd spent every bit of money he could find on alcohol. The buzzing, the sense of fluidity he got when he was drunk was wonderful. Time flew in a contented blur, days turning to weeks, then months, then years as he drank away the time until he could find the Doctor again.

The problem with being a drunk was that drunk Jack had no sense of restraint. Of course, sober Jack had no restraint either, but it was worse when he was pissed. He'd hit on anything that moved, either sexually or physically. He must have died a thousand times before Torchwood found him, the result of pub fights, or jealous lovers, and from hitting publicly on men. So uptight!

Then Torchwood blundered into his life in the form of Alice Guppy and Emily Holroyd. The Torchwood Lesbians, he'd called them. Never to their face, of course, because they had been scary and liked to come up with creative ways to kill him, to test the boundaries of his immortality.

The Jack Harkness who existed before he'd met the Doctor would have loved them.

Torchwood had given him a purpose. He knew the Enemy, the Doctor, so they wanted him. He wanted to change them, to show them that the Doctor was not the evil alien Queen Victoria had painted him as. So he stopped drinking all together, preferring water (it was easier to notice the look and taste of Retcon in water, anyway), and only having a drink after a particularly bad day.

Today was a bad day.

* * *

_Donna and the Doctor watched the newly-forged immortal scrub the TARDIS' kitchen floors on his hands and knees, both of them with their arms crossed over their chests. "They're going to self-destruct," Donna said. "Ianto's been at this for days, and I haven't seen Jack for just as long."_

_"We shouldn't interfere," the Doctor replied seriously, looking down at the Welshman over the thick black rims of his glasses. "They need to solve this problem themselves." Then, after a heartbeat, he took a breath and added, "So I'll take Ianto then?"_

_"Sounds like a plan," Donna agreed, nodding._

_The Doctor gave a nod as well, heading off towards the wardrobe room. He'd already had an idea in mind, but he was acting like he didn't want to meddle. Cheeky alien._

_Donna tapped her chin, thinking about where she would find Jack. After she'd discovered Lance's betrayal, once she was back home and normal she'd gone and --_

_"Doctor," Donna called after the Time Lord. "Does the TARDIS have a pub?"_

* * *

The TARDIS did not, in fact, have a pub. What it had was more like an Earth wine cellar, with bottles and bottles lining a long corridor-like room, the air a touch chilly against Donna's bare skin.

The Doctor was more of a connoisseur of alcohol than he was a consumer. Bottles and bottles lined the walls, most of them with a thick layer of dust over them. Ianto would have fun cleaning in here.

At the far end Donna could see a light, a lamp that was resting on a low table clicked on. A large chair squatted by the table, high back to Donna. Empty bottles were scattered across the floor. An arm hung off the side of the chair, and Donna recognized the leather strap thing that Jack always wore.

"Jack?" she called out, her footsteps echoing across the flagstone flooring. "Jack, are you all right?" she asked, putting a little more confidence in her voice as she approached him. Stepping carefully around empty bottles and puddles of strong-smelling drink, she made her way around to see Jack passed out in the chair. His left arm was dangling over the arm of the chair, the right cradling a half-full bottle in his lap, the picture of alcoholism.

"Jack," she repeated, grabbing his shoulders and giving him a firm shake.

The bottle slipped out of the Captain's grasp and fell to the floor. The glass didn't shatter, but dark amber liquid glugged out from the narrow neck opening across the dusty floor.

Ianto would not be pleased.

The redhead sighed. "Sorry 'bout this, mate," she told the unconscious captain before swinging her hand back to deliver a ringing smack straight across his face.

Jack awoke with a jerk, a hand going up to cover his reddening cheek as he blinked drunkenly up at her.

"Don'a," he greeted her.

"Stop all of this nonsense right this instant," she replied, shaking a finger at him as if he was a naughty child. "You're going to kill yourself."

The laugh the immortal gave was bitter. "Can' die," he replied with dark triumph, groping for another bottle.

Donna moved all the bottles from out of his reach. "Yeah, you can, idiot, it just doesn't stick with you!"

* * *

_Ianto was kissing his forehead tenderly, his hands resting on Jack's shoulders carefully stroking, trying to soothe now-invisible wounds. "I'm fine, Yan," he said softly, wrapping his arms around Ianto's waist, holding him, feeling him breathe, feeling his heart beating against his chest._

_"You died," came the soft reply._

_"No."_

_"Yes, Jack." Ianto pulled away, looking down at his Captain, his lover. "You died. We shot you -- "_

_"Owen shot me."_

_"I didn't try to stop him!"_

_Jack pulled Ianto close again, rubbing his back in soothing circles. The younger man relaxed against his touch, relaxed into his arms and remained quiet, the two of them stealing a few moments of peace in the chaos that was still resulting from Abbadon's awakening._

_Ianto's lips touched his forehead again, so feather soft Jack almost missed it. "We thought we'd lost you."_

_The Captain tilted his head up to kiss Ianto properly. "I'm not going anywhere."_

* * *

Jack winced, covering his ears with his hands. "Can you not yell?"

"Oh, you want to hear me YELL!? You've done plenty to earn it!"

"I know, he hates me" Jack whimpered pitifully. Even drunk, he was trying that patented Harkness charm.

Donna was having none of it. "I'd hate you too! Honestly, and they say women are difficult." She put her hands on her hips, staring him down. "Just stop and think for one moment, Harkness: you two are soul mates, right?"

"Yes," he replied bitterly. Soul mates with a man who now wanted nothing to do with him.

"You can feel what he feels?"

"More or less."

"How do you think he's going to handle feeling you die like this?"

Jack had opened his mouth to reply when the meaning of her words actually penetrated through the inebriation. Ianto could potentially feel him _die_, feel the anguish and literal pain and --

It was a sobering concept.

"I think I'm going to be sick," he moaned, covering his mouth.

"Right then, off to the loo," Donna sighed, helping the Captain to his feet and staggering with him to the nearest bathroom.

* * *

_He could hear singing. Familiar singing, the sounds that were still ringing in his ears every time he was thrown back into life, the same sound that he'd heard when Rose had given him the Curse of Immortality._

_The singing of Time._

_It wasn't really singing, Jack knew. It was energy, the emotions of the innumerable masses tangled into knots, translating into the easiest thing to project emotion from one being to another._

_Song._

_He could see everything: Rose's song, blinking out far too soon but leaving a lingering echo on another plane. The Doctor's theme coming to an end in fire and blood and honor the way he knew it had to. See Martha's melody influencing hundreds, thousands, millions, billions. See the team's, the little imperfections in pitch that made them resonate all the more beautifully._

_See Ianto's song, the quiet, devoted accompaniment to his own brash song, winding through Time, together intertwined._

_The sudden loss of the music, the quiet ringing in his ears was too much for him to bear._

_He shut down._

* * *

Jack knew he was sobering up when his head began throbbing. He never had a head for Venetian whiskey to begin with, and three bottles had probably been a bit much.

He took a deep breath, and the sudden spinning made him close his eyes tight. His stomach lurched as his world continued to spin behind his eyes and he leaned over the toilet, moaning a little. Oh, he hadn't been this bad since the Academy had held their first (and last) Instructors Versus Students drinking contest.

He felt a soothing hand on his back and looked over, hoping to find Ianto. Instead, Donna was kneeling next to him, running a cool cloth over his face. "Want to rinse your mouth?"

He nodded, feeling pitiful and accepted the glass from Donna, taking a small sip. She watched as he swished the water about in his mouth and spit it out into the bowl.

"Thank you," he gasped, sitting back on his heels and handing the glass back.

"We Companions have to stick together, right?" Donna said in response, running the cloth around to the back of his neck.

Jack closed his eyes and sighed appreciatively. He took a few deep breaths and swallowed heavily twice, composing himself. His stomach was probably empty by now, and some water would probably do him good. First things first, though. "Donna? If you wanted me out of my shirt, you could have just asked."

The smack to the back of his head was completely unexpected, and hurt like a motherfucker. "OW!"

"You spilled all over, it reeked," she replied.

Jack held the back of his head, blinking tears of pain away. "You're... really good at this."

Donna shrugged. "Been through enough myself, I know what to do."

He nodded, leaning back to sit properly on the floor. He leaned his head against Donna's shoulder and whined a little.

"Feel bad?"

"Miserable," Jack replied.

"Good. You should see what poor Ianto's been doing."

"Cleaning." He looked up at her. "Right?"

"How'd you know?"

"I know everything about Ianto," he said simply.

"Oh yeah?" Donna smiled, putting an arm around his shoulders.

"Mmm. How he quirks his eyebrow when he's angry. How he gets this little smile when he's thinking those delightfully naughty thoughts of his. He sleeps on his side, snores a little bit, curls his hand up by his face a little." Jack smiled fondly. "He sings beautifully, talks in Welsh when he's mad and refuses to translate it for me, cares for Myfanwy -- "

"Who's Myfanwy?"

"Our pterodactyl."

"Your what?"

"Our pterodactyl," he repeated. "We kept her caged at Torchwood while you were there, she gets fussy around new people."

"O-kay."

"Why did he do that?" Jack asked suddenly, looking up at Donna. "Why'd he make himself immortal?"

"Did you not want that?"

"No!" He shook his head and moaned, putting a hand on his forehead. "I mean, I want him to stay with me, for as long as he wants, as long as he can."

"He can now," the redhead replied. "Is that so bad?"

"Yes! Being immortal, it's not what people think it means." He frowned a little. "I'm so _tired_. I was never this tired before."

"Yeah?"

"It wears on you. Seeing everyone you love, everything you know pass away. I don't want him to go through that." He looked up at her again. "He has nieces and nephews, did you know that? And oh, he loves them so much, loves them like they're his own."

* * *

_"Ewythr Ianto!"_

_Ianto let out a laugh as three identical little boys burst into the Information Booth, latching themselves around the Welshman's waist. He knelt down and took all three into his arms, kissing each curly dark head._

_Jack stood silently to the side, trying to hide the beaded curtain. He immediately knew they were his nephews, recognized them from the pictures he kept in his flat, but if he hadn't known any better he would have thought they were his sons. All three of them were little carbon copies of his Ianto._

_If he and Lisa had ended up with children, they would have been just beautiful._

_"You're early," he scolded, kissing one on the forehead and making him laugh. "Where's your Tad, hmn?"_

_One of them said something in Welsh and Ianto shook his head. The little boy looked over and noticed Jack._

_"He's outside with Auntie Nonny and Mam," he repeated, smiling and giving Jack a little wave._

_Jack stepped out from behind the curtain, smiling and waving back. "Hello there."_

_"Hi," three voices chorused._

_Ianto laughed. "Jack, this is Tristan, Tudor and Arthur," he replied, touching each one's head in turn. Jack raised an eyebrow and Ianto got a little grin on his face. "My sister-in-law is into fairy tales," he explained with a smile. "Boys, this is Jack."_

_They looked at each other, giggling. Ianto laughed as well, playfully swatting at the back of their heads. "I need to lock up, go see your Tad. We'll be out in a moment."_

_The three boys hurried out the door, chatting to one another in Welsh. Ianto laughed and walked over to Jack, fixing the Captain's tie._

_"Nonny?"_

_"Her full name's Rhiannon," Ianto replied, smoothing his hands over Jack's shirt. He paused with his hands over Jack's heart, gently tracing the outline of the Vidara necklace and smiling up at him. "Thank you."_

_"Your father personally requested I come over for dinner, he sent me a note and everything. How could I refuse?" He smiled and leaned in to steal a quick kiss. "Were they laughing at me?"_

_"Yes."_

_Jack groaned._

_"You should have seen what they did to poor Lisa," he deadpanned. "At least they won't be asking you when they're getting a new playmate."_

_The Captain laughed as Ianto took his hand._

_He was happy to see that Ianto could talk about Lisa without getting ghosts in his eyes._

* * *

"He has to watch them grow up, get old, and die, while he lives on. I don't... didn't want to put him through that," he said softly.

Donna nodded, squeezing his shoulders a little. "Yeah, but Jack, now he's got someone to help him through that." She smiled softly.

"I don't know if he'll want me."

"He will. You just need to talk to him, explain what you meant."

"What d'you mean?" he asked, frowning at her a little.

Donna rolled her eyes. Men. "Ianto thought you meant that you didn't want to stay with him."

"What? I didn't mean that!"

"I know that, he doesn't."

"I need to talk to him." He lurched to his feet before turning a vivid shade of green.

Donna wrinkled her nose as Jack bent over the toilet. "I think he'll appreciate the talk more when you're not throwing up all over his shiny shoes."


	10. It's A Good Thing You're So Pretty

Title: It's A Good Thing You're So Pretty  
lj community dwtwprompts prompt: Misunderstanding  
Date Written: 4/28/08  
Rating: PG-13/T  
Word Count: 1,954  
Characters/Pairings: Doctor, Donna, Jack/Ianto, Jack/Estelle  
Spoilers: Doctor Who up to current season, Torchwood seasons 1 & 2.  
Warnings: boys kissing.  
Author's Notes: Chapter eight! Whoo. Uncut version over on my lj and on AFF.N

* * *

Ianto was painfully aware of two things when he came to.

One, he was in a pair of pajamas. Which meant the Doctor had probably changed him as he'd slept. Which meant there was a good chance the Doctor had seen him stark naked. That was a deeply unsettling thought.

Two, and much more importantly, he wasn't wearing his necklace. He _never _took his necklace off, not once since Jack had given it to him. His siblings had commented on it the few times he'd stayed over visiting, afraid he'd choke in the night, but he had just smiled and politely refused.

Jack would never intentionally give him something that would hurt him. That was one constant Ianto could lay his life on.

Blue eyes shot open as he grabbed at his throat, where his necklace usually hung. He moved to sit up, still in a panicked daze when he felt hands on his shoulder, and a familiar, soothing sound, Jack's voice in his ear.

"Calm down, Yan, it's just me."

The Welshman looked about, eyes still wide and a little crazed before coming to rest on the Vidara necklace on the bedside table. He reached out and snagged it, looping it around his neck, and seemed to calm down almost instantly.

Jack took that as a good sign. The last time a marriage had dissolved, he'd had a ring chucked at his forehead. Hard to believe that little ring of metal had hurt like it had.

A much calmer gaze, a more Ianto-like gaze, met Jack's, took him in from his seat at the edge of the bed. Jack's hair was still wet from a shower, and he had changed into a pair of jeans (tight, tight jeans, too, Ianto bet they showed that rear off like nothing) and a plain white tee. There were dark, tired circles under Jack's eyes, and something else, something lingering within his older lover.

Ianto reached out to touch Jack's temple gently. "Headache?" he asked softly, starting a gentle massage.

"Hangover," Jack corrected, leaning into his touch, a little at first, then more confidently when Ianto didn't pull his hand away.

The younger man shook his head, tapping the side of Jack's head in reprimand. "Shouldn't do that."

"I know." He took Ianto's hand from his head, stroking the palm carefully. "And you shouldn't wear out your hands," he murmured, kissing the palm of first one, then the other.

"I know," Ianto echoed.

They looked at each other for a few long moments, then Jack reached out to touch Ianto's cheek. "Yan, I didn't mean it how you thought I did." Ianto opened his mouth, but Jack put a finger over his lips. "No, wait, let me explain." He reached down to take both of Ianto's hands in his, taking a deep breath. "Ianto, I love you. I love you so, so much. But Immortality isn't all it's cracked up to be. Your family, your friends, you'll lose them all. It hurts. I... Don't want to put you through that pain, through losing those you love."

* * *

_Estelle, so full of vitality and youth, took Jack's hand. "I love you, Captain Harkness."_

_Jack laughed and picked her up, kissing her soundly. "Well, that's a good thing, 'cause I love you too, Miss Estelle."_

_"You'll stay with me forever?" she asked, squeezing his hand a little._

_It made him pause. "I'll stay with you as long as I can," he promised, kissing her again. "I will love you forever, though," he swore._

_Estelle's smile put the sun to shame. "Then that's enough."_

* * *

Ianto squeezed Jack's hands in sympathy. "I know, Jack. I see the toll it takes on you, despite how you try to hide it." He put both Jack's hands into one of his, stroking the backs carefully, soothingly. "There are pictures of you with the other Doctor in the Archives, before you changed. You looked so much happier then, lighter. No ghosts to haunt your dreams, or at least not as many."

"They all leave me in the end," Jack said, his gaze focused on their joined hands. "I know it, but it still hurts. I'm still responsible."

"We're fragile," Ianto replied. "Porcelain figurines. Eventually we fall, and shatter against the floor." He reached up to touch Jack's chin, forcing his gaze up. "That's the Gift of Life, an eventual respite from it all."

Jack tried to keep the bitterness out of his laugh, but he was too old, too tired, too jaded. "Then what does that make us? Where's our gift?"

Ianto gave him a soft smile. "Each other. Someone to understand, to know how it feels. To have someone walking the Slow Path beside you."

_...Ianto's song, the quiet, devoted accompaniment to his own brash song, winding through Time, together intertwined..._

"I don't deserve you," Jack said quietly, closing his eyes. He was definitely still a little drunk, or perhaps it was the light sensitivity making tears prickle up.

"I know," Ianto replied smoothly, and Jack laughed. "But here I am."

Jack leaned in, wrapped his arms around Ianto's waist, buried his face in Ianto's neck and inhaled deeply, letting the familiar scent wash over him, soothe him, reassure him. Here was something that was just his, his forever, nothing and no one would ever take him away.

And he'd almost lost it by sticking his foot in his mouth.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "I'm so sorry, I was stupid and an idiot and said the wrong thing _again _and I didn't mean it and -- "

"Yes, yes, I know, I know," Ianto replied, wrapping his arms around Jack and rubbing his back soothingly. "I'm sorry I took it the wrong way."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Jack replied, his voice still muffled against Ianto's neck. "I'm the stupid one."

"I guess it's a good thing you've got me then," the younger man said, kissing the top of Jack's head.

Jack laughed and kissed his neck, feeling Ianto's pulse race under his lips and tongue.

* * *

_Donna pulled one ear piece of her stethoscope out of her ear, looking over at the Doctor. "I guess even soul mates can get in fights."_

_"Well, ultimately they're two different people," the Doctor answered, doing the same and looking over at his Companion. "No matter how bound up in each other, no matter how alike two people are, they have different life experiences, different views. Misunderstandings arise from those differences."_

_"So they'll fight again?"_

_"Definitely. If they didn't, their relationship wouldn't be healthy."_

_"But a relationship where two people fight all the time isn't healthy either," Donna argued._

_"It hurts to argue with people you care for, yes, but it's an inevitable result of interaction with another being." The Doctor said patiently. "Conflicts arise from time to time, even between the closest of friends, of lovers."_

_"So they'll fight again?" Donna repeated._

_"Oh yes." The Doctor's wide smile graced his face as he looked at Donna. "But they realize it now, and accept it."  
_

* * *

Ianto hadn't realized that Jack was undoing the buttons of his shirt until the cooler air of the room hit his skin. He smacked Jack's hands. "Who said you could do that?"

Jack pulled back and pouted. "I thought we made up. Doesn't make-up sex follow?"

"Maybe I'm still mad at you," Ianto replied. "Maybe I'll kick you out of our bed tonight."

"You won't." Jack smiled and leaned in, kissing and nibbling on Ianto's collarbone just the way he knew the younger man liked.

"How d'you know that?" Ianto gasped, fighting back the moan trying to climb out of his throat.

"Because you just called it _our bed_," the Captain replied, carefully moving Ianto back against the pillows again. "If you had called it _my bed,_ I'd be sleeping on the floor."

Ianto couldn't help but laugh as Jack's hand swept down his bare chest and stomach, reaching up to tangle his fingers in Jack's damp hair. "Kiss me," he breathed, pulling him closer.

The corners of Jack's mouth quirked upwards as he leaned in to seal his mouth over Ianto's. He poured all his love, his happiness, into the kiss, moaning softly as he felt Ianto kiss him back with the same desperate need to show Jack how he felt.

* * *

_The Doctor tucked his stethoscope away in his pockets. "We should give them their privacy."_

_Donna shushed him, leaning into the door as if that would help her get a better listen._

_"Donna."_

_The human waved an annoyed hand at the Doctor._

_"Oi, fangirl, stop it." The Time Lord reached for the stethoscope, struggling with Donna for a few moments before wrestling it out of her hand._

_The redhead pouted. "You ruin all of my fun!"  
_

* * *

Ianto's head was spinning.

Jack's mouth was mesmerizing, pressing against every spare inch of Ianto's exposed skin, devouring his neck as the younger man's long fingers tangled into his hair and moaning softly. That was normally enough to make Ianto's senses buzz. This time, though, he felt an odd, lingering echo through his head, a familiar whisper of pleasure overlapping his own.

He realized with a jolt that he was feeling what Jack felt.

Jack raised his head to look at him. "You okay?" he asked softly.

"Y-yeah," he replied, a little shakily.

Jack raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything, lowering his head again to kiss the underside of his jaw. "If you want me to stop, I will."

"I"m okay," Ianto insisted, moving his hands down from Jack's hair underneath the collar of Jack's shirt, stroking along his spine. "Just... wasn't expecting it."

Jack smiled softly and kissed his throat, loving the way Ianto arched his head back invitingly. "It takes a little getting used to," he said, slowly moving down to kiss along his shoulders.

"This has happened to you before?"

"Not exactly." Jack pressed a kiss over Ianto's thrumming heartbeat. "But I had psychic training at the Academy, it's a little similar." He grinned and licked wetly at one of his lover's nipples. "With you, I don't even have to try, though."

Ianto gasped and shifted a little underneath Jack's rather distracting mouth, frowning a little as he thought. "How come I can sense you now, but I couldn't earlier?"

Jack laughed. "I don't know." He pulled back a bit. "Would you please stop being so analytical and just _enjoy _it?"

The younger man laughed a little as well, moving his hands up to Jack's hair again. "Sor -- " His apology was cut off as Jack leaned in to kiss him deeply, his tongue sliding against the roof of Ianto's mouth.

Ianto swore he tasted a hint of alcohol before his mind decided to go fuzzy in pleasure.

* * *

_Donna found the Doctor in the kitchen, a pot of tea still-steaming sitting on the counter. The Doctor was leaning against the counter, downing a mug. "Doctor? Are you all right?"_

_"What? Oh, yes, yes," the Time Lord said distractedly, turning to pour himself another cup of tea._

_"Doctor, you're flushed," the human said, stepping over to touch his face. He had a far off look in his eyes, as if he wasn't all there. "I think you're getting sick."_

_"You don't know the half of it," he muttered into his cup.  
_

* * *

Jack and Ianto were still tangled up in each other hours later, enjoying the quiet pleasure of touching and being touched by their other half.

Their hands were still laced together.

Jack raised their joined hands, kissing the back of Ianto's hand softly. Ianto smiled and touched Jack's cheek.

Neither said anything. They didn't have to. Their soft smiles and gentle touches said more than anything words could have.


	11. That's A Brilliant Idea, But Let's Go Wi

Title: That's A Brilliant Idea, But Let's Go With Mine Now  
lj community dwtwprompts "Self-conceit may lead to self-destruction." - Aesop.  
Date Written: 4/28/08  
Rating: PG-13/T  
Word Count: 2,001  
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, one-sided Jack/Gwen, Team, Doctor  
Spoilers: Doctor Who up to current season, Torchwood seasons 1 & 2.  
Warnings: boylovin' again. Yup, that's right, more of it. :D And Gwen bashing (sorry Gwen fans, I'm a shipper at heart.)  
Author's Notes: All right! Bad news and good news! The bad news: Last chapter of this series. Sorry. And onto the good news! The muses have poked me into two spin-off series of a bunch of one shots, which will be posted shortly. Deviations from the Norm is little Janto moments without the Doctor and Sonata for the TARDIS in D is them travelling through space and time -- with and without the Doctor.

* * *

"I should call the team," Jack said suddenly, breaking the quiet of the room.

Ianto nodded and kissed Jack's bare stomach. "I meant to ask, how does it work? I mean, I know the Doctor linked up the phone, but when we ring them up, when do they pick up?"

Jack stroked Ianto's hair idly, grinning as it stuck out at wild angles. "I think it's more or less our linear time, give or take a few hours. When we go two days without contacting them, it's about the same amount of time for them."

"Ah." Ianto kissed Jack's skin again, carefully tracing his tongue along the contours of Jack's abdomen, laughing against his skin as Jack's stomach squirmed under his mouth.

"Stop that, we're supposed to be behaving," Jack teased, his hand moving down to massage the back of Ianto's neck.

"No, we're supposed to be learning how to close ourselves off to the outside world," Ianto replied, his mouth moving up to ghost over a flat nipple. "But if we can't do it while we're distracted, it won't be very useful, will it?"

* * *

_The Doctor looked across the table at the two immortals; both were bright red (even Jack, which was a surprise; he didn't think the older man still had a blush left in him)._

_"Well, this certainly is embarrassing," Ianto finally murmured, looking down at his hands._

_The Doctor nodded and looked away. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but with all the emotion you two were releasing it was impossible not to." He didn't mention how the TARDIS had fairly glowed, feeding on the energy as well, or how Donna had figured it out eventually and called him seven kinds of pervert._

_She was just jealous._

_"We can't go back before we get a handle on our psychic bond, learn how to keep it between just us," Jack said, reaching over to take one of Ianto's hands._

_"I don't think we should go anywhere," Ianto agreed. "We'd be painting a target on everyone."_

_The Doctor nodded. "I think that would be for the best." He stirred his tea idly, thinking. "There's a room that was used a long time ago for psychic training, we can move you in there. It'll dampen the sensations to those outside the room until you learn to control it." He'd taught his children and grandchildren how to block unwanted psychic attacks in that room. The TARDIS would love that it was being used again._

_"Done," two voices echoed.  
_

* * *

Jack turned his head to kiss Ianto's forehead. "I have a confession."

"Oh? Should I get the priest outfit out then?" the Welshman deadpanned, licking at the slightly-sweaty skin of Jack's shoulder.

Jack smacked Ianto on the rear lightly in mock reprimand, laughing. "No. When I was being stupid, I had my mobile with me."

Ianto lifted his head to look at him. "Jack. Did you drunk dial the PM again? Granted, it was really funny the first time, but the second time it was just bothersome."

"No! No, not the prime minister. And I only did that 'cause it was really funny listening to Harriet Jones' voice get higher and higher as she got more and more put out."

"Then who--" Ianto's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "Oh, Jack. You didn't."

Jack just gave a sheepish grin and shrugged.

"You called _Gwen_?"

* * *

_Jack frowned drunkenly at his wrist strap, prodding at random buttons. "C'mon..."_

_A dial tone drifted up from the tiny speakers and Jack let out an exasperated sigh, punching another button and hearing the line ring. After a few moments, the line clicked on and an annoyed female voice said, "WHAT?!"_

_Jack jumped a little at the force behind the voice, sloshing some alcohol over his shirt. "What did I do now?"_

_"Oh Jack!" He could hear Gwen's smile in her voice. "I'm sorry, I thought you were Rhys."_

_"Gettin' in fights s' soon?" Jack slurred, pressing the bottle to his lips and taking a large swallow._

_"Yeah, it's sort of depressing," she lamented._

_"Join the club, honey," the Captain said, taking another drink. He frowned when he realized that the bottle was empty._

_"Aw, did you and Ianto have a fight?" Gwen soothed, her voice thin and tinny through the speakers. "I'm so sorry."_

_"I bet y'are," Jack said low under his voice, setting the empty bottle aside and reaching for another one._

_"What?"_

_"Nothin'." Jack pulled the cork of the next bottle out with his teeth, spitting it across the room._

_"What did you fight about?" Gwen gently prompted._

_"He did somthin' stupid an' got mad at me for it," Jack took another drink, wincing a little. Oh, this one tasted horrid._

_"How mad?"_

_"Oh, y'know, he hates me. Wants ta go home." He burped loudly before covering his mouth. "Sorry 'bout that."_

_He could see her wrinkle her nose in disapproval. "Jack, are you drunk?"_

_"Yup!" He grinned proudly._

* * *

Ianto groaned, burying his face into Jack's shoulder. "Jack, you should have known better!"

"I know, I'm sorry!"

"It's rule one, Harkness, you don't call the person who fancies you to complain about fighting with your lover!"

"She doesn't _fancy _me," Jack defended.

"Oh sure. And I'm still a virgin."

"I fulfill a fantasy for Gwen, that's all." Jack took one of Ianto's hand, nuzzling the palm. "The perfect man. It doesn't matter who's behind it, really."

"Yes, but Gwen is a lot like a teenager in the fact that she has a hard time distinguishing _fantasy _and _reality_." He curled his fingers around Jack's face, brushing his hair. "An easy mistake to make within Torchwood, granted, but still."

* * *

_Gwen did a little mental dance. Jack had fought with Ianto! Maybe they'd break up, and stop all this 'soul mates' nonsense. "Why don't you come home?" she purred into the mobile, unconsciously giving a little grin. "Let me take care of you?"_

_There was a long pause. "Jack?"_

_Eighty million light years away, Jack had passed out in the leather chair, his wrist strap beeping as Gwen's forlorn "Jack? Are you there?" echoed around the room._

* * *

Jack made a face, nuzzling Ianto's palm again.

"We need to explain it to her," Ianto said.

Jack looked up at him. "I thought that you would want to be mean to her."

"It's not worth a cat fight," the Welshman replied. "Besides, I know I have you."

"Always," the Captain said, turning to kiss his wrist.

Ianto smiled back. "I was thinking -- " he began, but was cut off when Jack's wrist strap beeped. He felt his heart catch a little in his chest. The last time it had beeped, Hart had almost killed everyone.

The worry must have shown on his face, because Jack leaned up to kiss him. "I hooked it up to the mobile system before we left," he explained before opening to flap and pressing a button. "Hello?"

"Oh, Jack, am I interrupting anything?" Gwen's voice floated up from the device. Ianto rolled his eyes and bit back his sigh. Of course she would call _now _of all times.

"Yes," Jack told her, looking at Ianto with raised eyebrows. Ianto smiled softly and waved his hand. "But I'll talk to you anyway," Jack continued, giving Ianto an unsure look.

Ianto gave a mischievous grin.

It wasn't gentlemanly to start a cat fight with Gwen over Jack, but a not-so-subtle reminder might be fun.

* * *

_Gwen was standing in the conference room, her mobile up to her ear as she watched Owen and Toshiko go over an alien autopsy. "Am I interrupting anything?"_

_"Yes," Jack's voice said, then, "But I'll talk to you anyway."_

_"Well, I can always just ring you up again -- " Gwen said, crossing her free arm across her stomach. Damn it._

_"How's everyone doing?" the Captain interrupted._

_"They're good. Missing you, and Ianto."_

_A low chuckle came through the other end, and Gwen closed her eyes, imagining Jack standing next to her. "We miss them too. Give them our love?"_

_"Of course." Gwen opened her eyes, the fantasy dissolving. "Will you be back soon?" she asked._

_"As soon as we can," Jack promised._

_"So you and Ianto made up then?" she asked, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear._

_There was another low chuckle. "Oh yes."_

_Gwen opened her mouth to ask what had happened when she heard a sharp gasp. "Jack, are you all right?"_

* * *

Jack swallowed hard, then swallowed again. "I'm fine," he finally managed with a straight voice, glaring down at his dark-haired lover.

Ianto gave a self-satisfied smile, his blue eyes never leaving Jack's.

_Bastard_ Jack mouthed.

Ianto hummed quietly in response and continued to do salacious things below Jack's belt.

"Are you sure?" Gwen's voice threw Jack back into real time, and Jack almost laughed. Ianto was blowing him while his competition was on the phone. Possessive bastard.

Oh, Jack loved him.

"Yeah, yeah," he reassured her, one hand moving down to tangle into Ianto's dark hair. "So tell me what's been going on since the last time I called."

Gwen launched into tales of Weevil hunting and paperwork and arguing with Owen over the budgets and the latest alien of the week. Jack 'hmmed' and 'oohed' in all the right places, only following half-along as he enjoyed the feel of Ianto's beautiful, perfect lips. He eventually had to cover his mouth with a hand to muffle the moans Ianto was wringing out of him.

Lovely, talented, kinky-as-hell Ianto. Oh, he so didn't deserve this man.

"Jack? Hello Jack?" Gwen's voice cut through Jack's lust-fogged mind, clearing things a little. "Are you there?"

"Yes, sorry," Jack said, pulling his hand away. He almost moaned when Ianto pulled away, that talented mouth moving up his stomach and chest. "Sorry, I'm multitasking, and I'm not as good as Ianto."

Ianto's chest moved against Jack's as he laughed quietly, leaning down to kiss Jack softly.

"Well, if I'm boring you," Gwen said, the hurt evident in her voice.

"You're not," Jack lied, arching a little as Ianto sat back on his heels, gently rolling his hips against Jack's.

* * *

_Gwen pouted. "I mean, we've been talking for about twenty minutes, and you've mentioned Ianto nearly every time you've opened your mouth."_

_"Can you blame me?" Jack replied easily. "He's hot, he's amazing, he's -- oh dear God!"_

_Her eyes widened. "Jack?"_

* * *

"Jack! Are you all right?" Gwen's worried voice came from the wrist strap.

The wrist strap that was on Jack's right arm, which was currently grabbing at Ianto's hips.

Ianto grinned and reached around, pulling Jack's hand off his hip and lifting it up. "Don't worry, Gwen, Jack's just fine," he said before pushing the disconnect button.

* * *

_Owen and Toshiko heard something smash against the water tower and abandoned their autopsy to investigate. After about fifteen minutes, Owen held a wet, broken mobile phone delicately between two fingers._

_"Hey, isn't that Gwen's?" Tosh asked, cocking her head to the side as she studied the broken piece._

* * *

"You're a naughty boy," Jack teased Ianto, sitting up.

"Don't hear you complaining," Ianto replied, smiling softly and resting his hands on Jack's shoulders.

Jack chuckled and kissed him softly. "You were saying something earlier?" he asked softly.

Ianto laughed breathlessly. "You want to have a conversation _now_?"

"Yes."

Ianto laughed again as he tried to gather his thoughts. "I was thinking, when we get home? We could, uh, maybe make this whole necklace thing legal? Well, Earth legal."

Jack's smile was dazzling. "Oh yeah?"

"Strictly for Torchwood, of course," Ianto continued.

"Torchwood does like making things official," Jack agreed, kissing Ianto's neck. "I'd like that."

Ianto smiled and closed his eyes, tilting his head to let Jack kiss on his neck some more.

"You do know we're not leaving this room for a while though, right?"

Ianto laughed. "We've got all the time in the Universe, Jack, I can wait."


End file.
